


Come a Little Bit Closer

by indestinatus



Category: NCIS
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Everybody Lives, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Sharing a Bed, Sick Character, ellickweek, putting all my favorite tropes into one fic check
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23303470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indestinatus/pseuds/indestinatus
Summary: They did not plan for a stakeout to turn into a full quarantine zone, but that's exactly what happened during a world pandemic.Bad soup, small space, no functional heater and...You guessed it.Only one bed.*this fic has soundtracks
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 104
Kudos: 154





	1. The shelter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Wasteland, Baby! - Hozier](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4rKN_qW5DU)

“Hold on a minute. He’s saying that this stake out just turned into a quarantine zone?”

“Are you saying this stake out just turned into a war zone, McGee?”

“A _quarantine_ zone, you idiot.”

“I meant a quarantine zone,” said Nick on the phone, concern eyes directed to the building on the other side of the street.

Ellie searched the answer at his features, but Nick only turned more and more uneasy.

“He asked us very impolitely if we hadn’t heard the news lately,” he replied, a hand covering the phone’s to talk to Ellie, “yes, yes, of course, McGee. What are we, troglodytes? Yes, there’s a virus spreading, but I thought we’d get a chance to finish the operation first.”

“Ask him if we can go home.”

“Yes, what’s the name again? Corona? Corveta?”

“Ask him if we can _go home_.”

Nick shushed her and paced till the other side of the small flat, Ellie trailing behind him.

“What do you mean, we can’t even leave the building?”

“ _What._ ”

“He said we can’t leave the building.”

“Yeah, I think I understood _that_ , Nick.”

“Okay, okay. Fine. So we stay here and do nothing for… I don’t know, a week?” Nick had to turn to the window to hide the smile forming on his lips from her.

“ _A week?!_ ”

“Agent Bishop, stop talking, please,” he raised her a confident eyebrow, making her cast him a puzzled look, “I’m trying to sort the operation out and find a way to ease our confinement.”

“There won’t be no confinement,” she said to him angrily, her fists closing in defiance, “there’s no way I’m going to spend a whole week locked in with you.”

“Okay, thanks, McGee. I appreciate it, man,” he spoke louder to muffle Ellie’s grunts of disapproval, “keep us informed. We’ll stay here until further notice.”

Nick turned off the phone and couldn’t help but smile at how enraged Ellie looked.

“What?”

“Are we,” she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm her senses, “am I about to stay a whole week confined in this small room with _you_ as my only company?”

“McGee said he would arrange the delivery of food and clothes,” Nick shrugged with a side smirk, “so… I guess?”

Ellie blinked once. Twice.

“If we don’t murder each other by the end of it, we might as well come close to that. Just a warning.”

“Yeah,” his eyes held her stare, “yeah, I guess so.”


	2. The space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The Box - Sammy Rae](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrrYSj-bvmc)

"Bishop?"

"Hmm?"

"What _exactly_ are you doing?"

Ellie lifted her eyes to him, a strand of hair from her bun falling in front of her face in the process.

"Have you seen this apartment, _Agent Torres_?" she spit out his name in annoyance.

Nick looked around himself.

They were in a small room with a queen-size bed rested against a half wall that separated the kitchen from the living room slash bedroom. Next to it was a small, old television at the corner of where the floor to ceiling windows met, which were now half-closed behind rusty shutters, only enough space for one of them to make watch during the stakeout. At the white-tiled kitchen was a small marble counter, next to an old fridge and dusty stove.

Apart from the bathroom, there were only these two rooms.

It was probably the worst place to stay during a lockdown.

For a whole week.

Ellie was fixing a yellow crime scene tape from the edge of the bed to the middle of the wall on the other side of the room. Nick crossed his arms and let her finish, enraged feet stomping past him to where Ellie entered the bathroom and fixed the tape in the middle of the shower wall. She came back fuming, eyebrows furrowed as she halted just in front of him to scoff at his face.

Nick was smirking.

"Quit smirking at me, this is a serious matter!" Ellie mimicked his position, crossing her arms as well and mouth forming a thin line. "We are gonna stay trapped here for an entire week, so this," she motioned to the side of the apartment where the bedroom was, the bathroom cut in half by a swaying yellow tape, "is my side of the flat and that," she pointed with her chin to the kitchen, "is yours. I'll give you the pillows and the bathroom we share. Then we can actually leave here _sane_."

Nick opened up his smile.

"I said quit smirking at me."

"I'm not smirking," he replied, clearly doing so.

"Well, stop laughing at me."

"I'm not laughing!" Nick raised his hands in surrender but his lips were opened in a big grin.

Ellie huffed, raising her chin slightly, "well, quit whatever you're doing."

Nick entered the bathroom and turned his head over his shoulder to reply to her in an echo, "this is me in a cheery disposition. I'm a ray of sunshine in the mist of bleakness," a laugh escaped his lips and Ellie stretched her neck into the bathroom, "don't put a cloud over my sunshine."

"It's an excuse to laugh at me," she scoffed, eyes traveling up and down Nick's back as he stepped into the shower stall.

"RAIN CLOUD!" he replied, coming out with a familiar yellow tape in his hands, one which he swiftly rolled back all the way towards the bedroom.

" _Why_ are you undoing everything I've done, _Agent Torres_?" His name rolled out her tongue with palpable disgust.

"Firstly because it's nonsense, we don't need tape to divide the flat," he unglued the tape from the opposite wall, "also because you wouldn't stand stay without the kitchen, you like eating _too much_."

Ellie scoffed once again, opening her mouth in annoyance, "no, I don't. I'm just organizing the space."

"There _is_ no space," he retorted, turning to her, "let's just do this, I shove you inside the fridge, take the comfy bed and we can share the bathroom."

"You want me dead?"

"With us quarantined here all week, the stench would be unbearable," Nick changed the stance of his feet, suddenly uncomfortable under her intense stare, "never mind, it was a joke, jeez."

"Fine, we share the kitchen and the bathroom, I get the bed and you get the duvet and pillows."

"And you massage my back after I wake up on his very hard cold floor, every day, for a week."

Ellie puffed a few seconds, blinking.

Nick raised both his eyebrows, a hidden smirk making its way to the corner of his lips.

"Fine," she finally replied, storming towards the bed to take off the pillows.

Nick couldn't think of a response to that - he wasn't certain she'd taken it as a joke - so he just stood there, looking at Ellie throwing pillows his way and getting hold of them out of reflex.

A ring started to reverberate around the small apartment.

Nick took out the vibrating telephone from his pocket.

"Oh, it's McGee," he glanced back at her and the sight of Ellie bending down to take the bed duvet out sent his heart racing. Her sweater slid up a few inches and made a small patch of her skin visible at her lower back, from which his eyes couldn't drift away.

"It must be the food," Ellie replied, her arm stretched over the bed to straighten out the blanket over the mattress, "I can't believe we're gonna stay here for a full week doing nothing."

She made her way to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

She needed a shower to get this uncomfortable feeling of anxiety away. She needed to think of a way of controlling her emotions and needs, and a way to not go mad in the process.

Nick cleared his throat, staring at the closed bathroom door.

"Yeah," he said to himself, glancing at the phone screen again, which still vibrated in his hand, "yeah, I can't believe that either."

°°°

Ellie got out of the shower with dripping wet hair that she padded with her towel. As soon as she opened the door, she noticed a pile of clothes on the floor, which she almost stumbled upon.

It was clean clothes. Nick must have left if there for her.

She didn't know why, but the small gesture was at the same time gentle and annoying. Intrusive, even. As if he wanted her to know even then she needed his help.

She scoffed through her nose but took the pile all the same, changing quickly to sweatpants and a clean T-shirt.

Once Ellie finally went to the bedroom again, or better, the only room of the flat, she was met with Nick sitting crossed-legged on the floor, back rested on the half-wall next to the bed. The small television was on, the news channel a white noise echoing in the tiny apartment. He was already in clean clothes, which meant he'd changed while Ellie was in the bathroom.

That gave her a warm, unfamiliar feeling at the base of her stomach.

Nick was chewing a slice of pizza, his eyes glued to the screen and no words were spoken once Ellie walked past him. There was a plate with two slices of pizza on top of the bed, which she silently took and mirrored his position, sitting on the mattress. Ellie eyed him with the corner of her vision, and something about how distractedly he ate made her smile.

"So your idea of finding something better to do is watching unending bad news about the issue?" she asked absentmindedly, biting her pizza slice.

Nick scoffed, not even turning to her. "Well, McGee called to say the stakeout is over, and the situation is not good," he motioned to the television with his chin, "so you might as well stop with the bitter attitude and start being grateful we're actually safe and with nothing to do. We could be those doctors, dying because of it."

_Whoa._

Ellie startled once she realized she might have gotten too far with complaining, but it was all just a plan to get her mind on control of the situation. The more distractions from the fact she was about to stay a whole week locked in with _him_ of all people, the better. 

Though she couldn't let Nick know that.

"Yeah, you're right," she sighed, paying more attention to the news. Nick finally lifted his eyes to her. "There's nowhere I would rather be than here," she said.

"Oh, Dios mio," Nick stood up and stomped his feet towards the kitchen, flinging his hands up in the air with annoyance. "You're sourer than my abuela's lemon tart, woman."

"Isn't lemon tart supposed to be sweet?"

"Exactly what I mean, Bishop."

Ellie stood up to get her plate to the sink, irritation steaming out her ears as Nick looked like a giant beast in the small kitchen, doing the dishes with an anger that mimicked her own. Just as she was about to take his place in front of the sink, he turned around, eyebrows furrowed in hostility, jaw clenched tight.

They danced for a few seconds in place, trying to get out of each other's way but failing. Torres rolled his eyes and huffed, taking Bishop by her shoulders and turning her around. Ellie had to close her eyes to try to calm down, words of repulse coming one after another in her mind. She muttered them for herself and started washing her plate.

This was going to be way more difficult than predicted if they were in this constant bad mood.

But neither of them wanted to feel defeated.

Nick arranged the duvet on the hard floor, laying down on top of two pillows. He grunted in annoyance but managed to find a position that didn't hurt his side so much. His mind was racing with steam, but he closed his eyes all the same. He wouldn't give Bishop the taste of seeing him complain like a baby because of bad sleeping conditions. She was already complaining too much for both of them.

Ellie finished what she was doing and padded back to the other room, halting when she saw Nick lying down on the ground.

She'd meant this as a joke, and hadn't realized he would take it for real until now.

But there he was, arms crossed over his chest as he faced the opposite wall, back turned to her.

"You can use the bed if you want," she eyed him with interest, "just don't move past your side. I can make a pillow division if it's easier."

That made him see red.

Nick wondered why Bishop took the effort to make it clear she didn't want him touching her at all when they both knew it was not allowed. He could live with the constant dread of wanting her and not being able to do nothing about it because she didn't reciprocate his feelings, but to actually hear her saying she didn't want him close crossed a line.

"I'd rather have the cold hard floor then being woken up by your cold hard feet in the middle of the night," Nick said disgusted, "you have witch feet."

Ellie gave a scoff of loathing.

"I do not have _witch feet_." She climbed the bed and turned her back to him, crossing her arms over her chest as the duvet was now on the floor. "And just to be clear, I shouldn't have even asked. I did it as a sign of my good manners, I rather sleep in the cold than have your bad breath on my face in the morning."

"Fine," Nick said too loud.

"Fine," she replied with scorn.

The echo of their words reverberated inside the thin walls and over and over in their minds, each one blowing off steam from opposite sides of the room. Nick muttered cursing words in Spanish for himself until Ellie heard his breathing slow down to a slumber sigh.

She couldn't believe he would rather sleep on the floor than share a bed with her, after all these years of partnership. I mean yeah, she would have to control herself not to instantly cuddle him, but that was _her_ problem. To actually hear Torres shut her down and not give her the small pleasure of 'accidentally' waking up closer to him and that toned body made her vexed. It made her see red. It made her forgot how cold the flat felt and how her arms shivered slightly without any blankets.

Nick was already sound asleep when Ellie started to silently cry.


	3. The shower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *note: the rating is there for a reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Eleanor - Woodlock](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VrZ4dDy30A)

Everything around her smelled of him.

Ellie opened her eyes, blinking a few times to wash the sleep daze away.

Everything around her _did_ smell of Nick.

Of sweet sandalwood and salty sweat. Of sex, of forbidden, of adrenaline.

She turned around, pulling the blanket to her eyes, eyes which widened perceptibly once Bishop was met with Nick doing pushups on the floor next to the bed.

Shirtless.

Completely shirtless, only his sweatpants in place.

There wasn't a bone in her body ashamed of trailing his back with her eyes, sweat drops making it shine with the soft light sunshine beams that escaped through the closed shutters. He appeared to not have noticed her yet, back muscles and arms flexing towards the ground and up again, the repetitiveness blurring Ellie's vision when she didn't dare blink. She would have whistled if she could, this was a toned body fit for a king.

Nick smiled silently, of course he had noticed her waking up, but something in him didn't want her gawking to end. 

Torres flexed his back muscles more than he needed to, feeling his biceps starting to burn after minutes of repetition. He knew sweat coated his skin and he _knew_ he looked good doing so.

Ellie thought so too.

Nick huffed softly, swiftly standing up but not looking at her. Bishop decided it was wiser to pretend to be asleep. If he knew she had been drooling for him for the last couple minutes, she might as well had bought her mocking ticket for the whole day. 

Nick had other plans in mind.

He opened the shutters with a swing of his hand, sunlight spilling in the small room and quickly drowning the whole flat in white. He stretched himself in front of the window, the cold April sun storming everywhere, making the sweat in his skin shine and Bishop's eyes blink repeatedly, not used to the sudden burst of light. 

Apparently, Nick knew that. 

"Good morning, babe," he said, turned opposite to her, "when you're done ogling my back, you can give it a massage just like you promised you would." He smirked and turned around, finding Ellie with wide, surprised eyes. "I'm gonna go downstairs to get us the daily delivery and you can start stretching your witch fingers so you can spend the whole day kneading my toned body."

"I hate when you call me babe."

"I know." 

He smirked down at her, who huffed in annoyance and stood up, the grogginess in her stance just adorable. 

Ellie narrowed her eyes against the sunlight but managed to send him an irritated look all the same. "And you can quit dreaming and actually do something useful."

"You were the one sleeping until now, Agent Bishop." Nick pointed to the window behind him and raised an eyebrow.

The motion made Ellie clench her jaw and mouth get dry. He was incredibly attractive with his figure shaped against sunshine. 

She wanted to lick him all over.

"And thank you for waking me up so rudely, _Agent Torres_." Ellie rolled her eyes and made her way to the bathroom, suddenly needing to get away from his sandalwood smell. 

She liked hot showers, ones that made you forget everything. Ones that stung your skin to the point of hurting, but a hurting that feels good. A good sensation, dulling down her senses and bringing the heat she felt inside to the surface, two sensations fusing as one. She liked the steam and the feeling of being hugged by warmth, as well as the way the mirror only showed a blur of her reflection, as if hidden from her own eyes. She needed privacy and she needed a chance to think. To forget his actions and words, to forget his voice and constant presence. 

But as soon as she closed her eyes, Ellie Bishop could only see him.

His silhouette framed by sunlight, laughing at her poor attempt of getting up flawless. 

She opened her eyes in a flash.

Only when Nick was way long gone from the flat did Ellie realize she had woken up covered with the duvet.

°°°

She was singing.

Nick Torres could put up with many things regarding unrequited feelings to another person, but hearing crystal clear singing coming from when they thought they weren't being watched wasn't one of them. 

The pure delight in her voice, the soft joy so contrastive to her words for him this morning and last evening, it made him want to sit down. Bishop had this faint characteristic in her tone, as if a gentle bird singing in the morning. As if all the power and strength she showed in the field was just a part of her persona, the one that the job demanded her to. She sang as if the first ray of sunshine on a summer day. She sang with a siren's voice, calling him to come just a little bit closer to her net. She sang as if she was water to his dry mouth and the answer he had asked for all his life. 

As if that was the real her, the one she didn't want anyone to know.

She must have thought he was still out of the flat, her voice coming clear from the bathroom and echoing all around the room.

It knocked the breath out of him.

Nick rested his back on the kitchen counter, the delivery he had got out to get forgotten on the floor. He closed his eyes, his heart racing as he tried to breathe as evenly as he could.

She had the voice of an angel.

The door opened, taking him out of his stupor.

"How much of that did you hear?" Ellie halted once she saw Torres with forearms rested on the counter, his face unreadable. He just stared at her, unblinking. 

"I could hear you complaining from downstairs," he sighed and turned around, breaking eye contact. 

He hadn't answered her question.

"I'm gonna hop in the shower and in the meantime, you can use that little geek mind of yours to find a cure for this virus." Nick raised his chin to her and an idea dawned in his mind. After the whole singing meltdown from his part, he wanted to throw her off _so badly_.

"Yeah, please try to tone down this stench that's spreading for the whole apartment," Ellie said, going to the packages at the kitchen, "you _stink_."

Nick huffed an irritated laugh, rolling his eyes as Ellie stationed herself just next to him, bending over the counter to start organizing their stuff. For someone complaining about his smell, she was definitely crossing the limits of his personal space. He studied her figure for a few seconds, inhaling her fresh after shower perfume. She looked so nice, her golden hair in a ponytail that swayed around and managed to catch the sunlight reflection for a few seconds, making his heart grow warm. 

She must be so blind about how much he drooled over her.

Nick walked towards the bathroom, whistling loudly. Ellie rolled her eyes, sighing at how casual this must have been for him. She hated that she had to control how she felt so much and yet he probably felt nothing, as if this was just another day sharing a room with a coworker. The more she thought about it, the more she tried to concentrate on the task in hand, sorting out the food and clothes. If she thought about it too much, feelings would start to arise, sad feelings and certain feelings she tried to keep buried. 

Bishop was too lost in her thoughts when _something_ thumped on the back of her head, making her move slightly with the impact, a hush of wind as if it was thrown from afar.

His laughter echoed all around just before the bathroom door closed, Ellie looking pointedly to the ground searching for what had thrown her off balance.

It was Nick's shirt.

" _UGH_ ," she retorted, grabbing it and throwing it back on the door, which trembled with her strength. 

All she received was more laughter from the other side of the wall.

Bishop didn't know if she was glad she didn't see him undress or she was annoyed he had caught that like that.

This _was_ going to be a nightmare.

°°°

Was he dreaming?

The water rolled over his shoulders, down his spine, a quick infusion of heat. He bowed his head and let it course through his hair and over his cheeks, let it drizzle from his bottom lip as he took slow, humid breaths.

Everything around him smelled of her. 

The hot steam of the shower smelled of Ellie's perfume - as she had just bathed minutes ago - of faint lavender and some floral he couldn't quite place. Nick closed his eyes, inhaling the scent.

He had no idea how he'd stand a whole week pretending not to like her when all he could think about was _Ellie_.

He rolled his neck in a full circle, ending where he began, and blinked open his eyes. He was, he found, staring down at his cock.

It was already half-hard and there was no denying it.

Nick tried very much not to think about it since the morning, when we woke up just the same, his hard-on concealed inside his pants. It didn't help when he turned to Ellie and found her face soft asleep, her blond hair mussed by the mattress. It _really_ didn't help when she started to softly moan, unconscious but very, _very_ clear. He wondered if she was perhaps dreaming of him but soon discarded the thought right away. Then the moans started getting more frequent, along with Ellie turning on her sleep and exposing a piece of her panties just on the brim of her sweatpants, and that was his undoing.

He got up, covering her with the blankets and trying to control himself.

Plus she looked so adorable pulling the covers to herself, part of him was content in doing so, as if he could take care of her as a secret.

He started to exercise because the arousal wouldn't leave, his hard-on a constant reminder of all the trouble he had got himself into once he'd agreed to stay lockdown without no one else than _her_. The endorphins helped, and distracting her was a way of distracting him, even if the words were the opposite of what he felt. Torres wouldn't let her know how in total mercy he felt even if his life depended on it. It was as if she was indeed a witch, and he was under her spell 24 hours a day. To be fair, one word from her would be his undoing, and he wouldn't even blink in taking her right there and then, alone in that shabby apartment.

He should've known this was going to be unbearable, with Eleanor Bishop around everywhere he turned. Her smell, her voice, her mere presence.

Torres rubbed his neck, hot water steaming the world around him and trailing down his back. 

He closed his eyes, the heat dulling his senses into a drowsy sensation, his skin starting to tingle.

Honey eyes. Honey eyes looking directly at him, the color of whiskey.  
Blond hair, the color of early sunshine, of gleaming hay, of molten gold.  
Lashes, dimples and a smile to light the whole world into summer.

A fisted hand hit the wall, the bang echoing in his ears when Nick couldn't her _off his mind._

She was everywhere.

He blinked, the droplets of water splashing down his face and neck as he let his head rest on the cold shower wall. He tried to control his raspy breathing.

His hand started to trail south, rubbing his slick chest until it arrived where he needed it to. 

Nick brushed his fingertips over the head. A slight, simple touch. He did it again, bolder, catching the pads of his fingers on the curve and tracing the shaft to the base, where it joined with his body. And up. It was a strange sensation, something like delicate lightning, but not at all unpleasant. So he did it again. This time, he cupped his hand so the shaft met his palm and moved once more, down and up, and that was-

A little punch of sound fell over his lips.

Yes. Better than pleasant. Good. It was very good.

In his mind, he heard the hot curl of Ellie’s voice, that angelic voice of her moaning in his ear. 

_Bishop._

His cock moved at the thought, a hot jerk of its own accord that burned into Nick’s hand.

 _Bishop_ , he thought again, deliberate, and the reaction was the same: a kick of pleasure in his mind that’s mirrored in his body, his cock, and he held himself more firmly, rolled his hand from the head to his belly and back, faster now. 

He took a deep breath, stroked himself once more, and in his mind Ellie was nosing at the back of his neck, one arm curled around his chest as the other slipped down his side, fingers tripping over his ribs and coming to rest just above Nick's hip. Delicate fingers playing over dangerous territory.

He imagined Bishop biting gently at the top of his spine, curling her mouth around Nick's neck and sucking, steady and slow.

Nick's head snapped back, imagining that he was pressing it into Ellie's shoulder as she chuckled, spreading that warm honey sound all over Torres' back. It made Nick’s fingers tighten, his wrist move faster, the feel of that sound in his skin.

In his mind, Ellie kissed his throat, tight little blooms that had Nick's body arching, asking for more.

Bishop's lips curved. _Mmmm_ , she said. _In a minute. Keep touching yourself._

Nick twisted, his cock leaping in his fist. He saw her circle himself, kneeling in from of him and licking lazily at his hipbone. Ellie made that sound again: a low contented hum. _C'mon, babe. Wanna see you make yourself come._

A light moan escaped Nick's lips, a jolt of pleasure so fierce it was almost painful. 

Her smell was everywhere- her smell...

Nick slapped a hand to the wall, his palm slipping over the tiles as he stroked his cock, watching the head fall in and out of his fist till his eyes fluttered shut. Ellie nipped at his hipbone and in an instant his hand became her mouth, that sinful angelic mouth-

 _I don't know why we just fight, Nick_ , Ellie said, low and ragged, her hand stroking him lazily. _I rather we stop playing so you could take me against the wall_.

Nick moaned a raspy breath, just as he imagined her lips circling him, honey eyes dark with pleasure. _And on top of the kitchen counter_ , his cock reappeared and she stroked it slowly before taking him without mercy again, head disappearing into her mouth. 

_And on the bed_ , Ellie said, her tongue licking her bottom lip and then _him_ all over, tracing the shaft up and down.

 _Even on the floor, babe._ She looked at him again, eyes dazed in hot-blooded need as her mouth hovered over his cock and her fingers traced it lazily. _Take me everywhere, Nick_ , she started licking him again, sucking and tasting him all over, _I can't wait for you to fuck me._

Nick moaned, a growl leaving his throat, the water making it harder for him to hold on.

Precome was already dripping off of it, fusing with the water as Nick imagined Ellie sucking him without pity.

 _Next time you come, babe,_ Ellie grinned, her hand continuing to stroke him hard, _make sure it's inside me, Nick Torres._

"Oh, fuck," Nick growled, his muscles tightening at the dream of her. "Oh fuck, babe." He bit back a low moan, biting his bottom lip in need.

Hot water splashed down his back, his arms, his neck, and whiskey eyes danced around his vision as stars, making Nick collapse.

Words fell to pieces in his mouth, ripped apart by a deep groan of satisfaction as he came, his cock leaping as he thought _Bishop Bishop Bishop_.

A moment passed, and all he could see was her.

He breathed deep, drawing the steam into his lungs once and again, steadying himself, and in his mind, he felt Ellie’s smile tucked into his pelvis, those beautiful hands rubbing soft circles on his skin.

“Yes,” Nick whispered, hiding his voice in the fall of the water. "You're driving me crazy, baby.”

°°°

"Lost the cure of this disease in my face or something, Nick?" A spoon traveled to her mouth as she chewed the cereal slowly, looking at him inquisitively.

He huffed and cracked a smirk, shaking his head as if he was thinking of something else. "There you are. Mind if I bring some warmth to this flat? Your stone-cold heart is irradiating ice everywhere."

 _You couldn't bring more heat to this apartment, Nick_ , she thought, but narrowed her eyes instead. "Do I have a choice?"

Nick only smiled at her, pressing play on his phone, from which a loud mambo started pulsating all around them. Ellie rolled her eyes when Torres started dancing to the upbeat rhythm, hips and shoulders in sync with the loud claps on the song.

Outside she was annoyed, inside all she could think of was 'Don't pay attention, don't pay attention, _don't pay any attention_ '.

Bishop however, did pay attention.

She found her eyes trailing over his body, noticing how his arms moved, how his hips knew the beat so naturally, how big his smile was when he was dancing with eyes closed. As if he didn't care about anything, about this pandemic, about not being alone, about her bitter reactions.

He couldn't be more attractive.

Ellie swallowed dry, bowl of cereal forgotten on the bed as she tried to pay attention to the news instead. 

She couldn't. Not when loud music reverberated inside the small flat, trumpets and tambourines building the rhythm until it was impossible not to dance to it. She turned to Nick and he was still moving with eyes closed, biting his bottom lip as he danced to himself. 

She started moving her shoulders as well, carefully.

The music escalated, quickly intoxicating them with pure joy. They both were dancing together with eyes closed, sharing the freedom in that confined space. Ellie let herself go, inhaling deeply as shoulders moved in rhythm with the mambo, a hand lifted to unbound her blond hair.

Nick didn't stop moving, but his eyes now were glued on her. Bishop swayed from side to side, the low afternoon sun painting her hair a golden hue, little freckles he had never seen now very visible on her cheeks. 

The song continued, tambourines mixing with claps and shouts, the mambo melting joy into melody. She looked so wild, so carefree dancing like that, eyes closed and a big smile as she swayed from side to side. Nick knew it was all an effect of the song, that smile wasn't because of him... But he liked to think he'd helped somehow.

A soft giggle escaped her lips and Bishop shot her eyes open, only to see Torres already staring at her. 

Redness crept up her neck, her cheeks blushing and warmth spreading at the sight of him already looking at her.

There was this shift in the air. The sunset glow brought a different gleam to his eyes, eyes that were still fixed on hers. 

He seemed to notice it as well.

There they were, dancing freely alone, but in a way _together_. A smile cracked into his lips and Nick's eyes turned soft. Ellie didn't dare move, still as a deer when he took a step closer to the bed. 

Particles of dust floated in the air, shining against the golden light. She tried to focus on them instead but failed, her heartbeat thundering in her ears as Nick took another slow step towards her.

Nick couldn't hear the song anymore, notes now forgotten when he dared to come closer, his racing pulse muffling any sound other than his raspy breathing. 

She looked so so beautiful, golden hair framing her face and whiskey eyes gleaming under the sunset glow. Eyes that didn't blink, eyes that stayed still when he got closer, leg now brushing the mattress. 

He wanted to kiss her very much.

Ellie didn't move when she felt a hand guide her chin up, when she saw Nick licking his bottom lip, uncertain eyes asking her a soundless question. She could only hear her heartbeat, a gallop inside her chest and pulsing on her fingertips, while heat warmed the back of her neck.

Torres didn't stop staring at her mouth.

She wanted to kiss him very much.

No thoughts came to her head, it was now blank. No retorts, no response, no voice as he bent his body over hers, thumb softly tracing her chin and guiding her face up towards his own lips. They were so close now Bishop could feel Nick's hot breath caress her cheek, clouding any reaction other than licking her own lips. 

Nick traced her tongue's movement, eyes alert to any affirmation he could proceed, and the short breath she let go when Ellie's eyes fluttered shut seemed indication enough. 

He closed his as well, noses brushing softly as roaring heartbeats matched its rhythm. He forgot all the rules, all the dubious remarks and all her aggressive retorts. He could only feel her, slightly opening the steel gate she kept close to his advances _for years_.

For years until now, until this, until-

Until his phone started to ring.

Ellie opened her eyes in a flash, coming to her senses. 

_This can't happen_ , she thought.

Nick could feel his heart snapping when she backed away, the ringtone too loud to dismiss. He opened his eyes to her looking the other way, completing shutting off the walls in her mind back up again. His hand hovered midair, the promise of a kiss forgotten as the sun finally set, a secret coming back to hide itself at the corner of her mouth.

 _DAMN IT_ , he cursed in his thoughts.

The moment slipped through his fingers, gone.

She was right, they couldn't risk it. The couldn't risk everything just for this, for some mediocre way of putting down his fire in a rundown apartment. She was right, this wasn't the path to go.

Ellie had to close her eyes to stop the tears from coming when she heard Torres pick up the phone.

"Hey McGee," he said, "No, no, man, don't worry about it. You called just at the right time, what's up?"

°°°

"Okay, Mr. Obvious, I know it's a bit weird, but I like it and that's the only thing that matters."

"Who in sane conscience puts Nutella on chicken?! That's sick. Just _disgusting_."

"It's actually surprisingly good, I like it."

It bothered Nick more that she was putting her finger inside the Nutella jar and sucking it quite absent-minded, not even aware of the effect on him.

After the phonecall to McGee - which led to nothing, to his disappointment, they were still in lockdown and with no other news - Nick found Ellie in the kitchen, preparing dinner as if nothing had ever happened. He guessed it was better this way, just leave embarrassments and second thoughts behind them. He had done it a thousand times already in the course of their friendship, but that didn't mean it hurt any less every single time. 

He felt almost nauseous, knowing they were about to stay more time together pretending he wasn't crazy for her. Pretending he didn't almost choke once he saw her dipping the finger inside the jar for the first time, tongue licking it clean with a swift suck on the cheeks. He'd clenched his jaw so tight he saw little stars, changing his position on the floor to relieve his hard-on.

He had to find a way out of this mess, or else he'd just come in his pants.

"We should start rationing food," he stood up, trying to conceal his awkward boner as he went to the other side of the kitchen counter, "I vote for Nutella to be thrown out the window, far away from well-seasoned chicken."

"I vote for the chicken, then." She eyed him, back turned to her while he did the dishes, "I don't really need protein during a lockdown. I need sugar, I need _fun_."

Nick mastered his mind not to give her the many retorts that danced on the tip of his tongue, jaw clenching again as he tried to control his thoughts. "You really _are_ contrary to me in everything I say, aren't you?"

Ellie winced at the disgust in his voice. Was it because she'd shut him down? "Well, I can't contain myself when everything you say is so painfully wrong."

If Nick had turned around, he'd see how uncertain her eyes were. How scared she'd gone too far this time.

He didn't turn around.

"Yeah, yeah, OF COURSE, BISHOP," steam returned, burning his vision. Good, great, a distraction. "I'm trying to make everything easier, but you're just INSUFFERABLE. YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT THE BED, ABOUT THE WINDOWS, ABOUT THE FOOD, ABOUT MY SMELL-"

"You _stink_. These windows are so rusty, going to THE BALCONY IS IMPOSSIBLE," her voice grew louder and louder once she saw him rolling his eyes in irritation.

"WELL, YOU SHOULD TRY OPENING THEM, AND ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING USEFUL FOR A CHANGE."

"I COOKED EVERYTHING YOU ATE TODAY, ASSHOLE, AND WHAT DID _YOU_ DO, NICK? PERUSE AROUND SHIRTLESS?"

She stood up, feet stomping to the kitchen with eyes seeing red once again. She hated him so much, how vulnerable he made her feel, how awful the situation was, to control her actions, her thoughts, her _feelings_ -

"You seemed to rather enjoy me _perusing around shirtless_." The smugness in his smirk made her huff out heavy breaths, closing her fists as she circled the counter to Torres' side.

"I DID NOT." He turned to her, scoffing and shaking his head. Bishop hated how small she felt, how big he looked, how-

"You wish to wake up by my side every day, don't you, baby?" said Nick, though his eyes were dead serious, bottom lip trembling in scorn, "it's Eleanor Bishop's dirty little secret, uh? Every witch has her secrets, yours is a hot on for your _coworker_ ," he spitted down the words in her face, disgust so palpable that the air between them was hot, steam poured from their pores. 

Though in his mind, Nick was praying to himself that was true.

"I PITY _YOU_. You think so highly of yourself, you dream about me _kissing your ass_ , uh?" She gave him a fake pout, honey eyes now dark with anger, "I'm not a mirror, Nick. Not everyone finds you _irresistible_." Her nose brushed his own, her body betraying her and bending even closer to him.

Nick could feel her breath caressing his cheek. "You _don't_? Stop lying to yourself, Bishop. I mean, look at you-" 

She took a step back, biting the inside of her cheek, "I _don't_ ," she spit out, mouth forming a thin line.

"Then the feeling is mutual."

She huffed.

"What do you mean 'then' the feeling is mutual?" her forehead frowned in anger, to which Nick raised his chin and just squinted his eyes, "if I had told you I found you attractive, what would _you have said_?"

He took a raspy breath. She blinked. Once. Twice.

"I guess we'll never know."

It was like a slap in the face.

Ellie took another step back, retreating. She had a feeling they were both being unfair, but his words met the mark. They seemed too real, too good a description for their playing with fire for years. Nick sensed it as well, his curled lip disappearing as eyes turned soft. He had crossed the line, and they both knew it. 

Bishop backed away even more when his hand hovered midair, trying to catch her arm, but the electricity had changed. It was now gray. Everything felt gray, the walls were too tight, the flat was too small, he was too close. 

She turned, shaking her head slightly as she made her way to the bed, jaw clenched resolute not to speak about the matter anymore. 

"Bishop, hey, I'm-"

All the heat in her body suddenly grew cold.

Ellie turned to him again, eyes widening as a freezing shock crossed her spine.

Nick was coughing all the air out.

No, no, no, no-

"Nick, Nick, talk to me." Bishop ran towards him, hands grabbing him by the shoulders as he coughed away from her, body bent to the other side. "Nick, are you okay? Talk to me, _please_."

He couldn't stop coughing, his eyes watering with the brute force of it. He tried to push her with his arm, but couldn't, suddenly feeling very nauseous.

"Nick. Nick. _Babe_." The word escaped her lips without her realizing, but neither of them paid much attention to that.

Ellie called his name again and again, eyes searching for his until the coughing subsided into a faint discomfort in his chest. She gave him a glass of water, watching him drink with wide-open eyes. A small hand shot up to his forehead, and Ellie couldn't stop thinking how delicate she appeared in contrast to the beast that was him. 

"Nick, you're burning with fever."

"Really? I guess it's the air," he fanned himself, gently putting her hand away, "or the shower. I took a really hot shower, you know? Hot, really hot."

"How are you feeling?" she completely dismissed his answers as her inquisitive eyes studied his face. Nick realized he wasn't feeling that well since this morning.

"I guess... a bit... dizzy?" He felt way tired for someone who'd only exercise for a couple of hours in the morning. He was used to more activities than that.

"You must have caught it when you were getting the deliveries."

"What? The virus?!" Nick got away from her, stumbling backward until his back was pressing against the counter. "Back off then, you're not catching this."

"What do you mean? I probably already have it if it's the virus."

"No, no," he used his arm to cover his mouth, the other hand raised to stop her from coming any closer. "You can't die, Bishop," the coughing restarted.

"Neither can you, Nick."

"You can't die because of _me_ , I mean."

Ellie's alarmed eyes fixed on his as she grabbed his arm, "I don't care."

"I can't let you, Ellie." He escaped her grip, feet taking him quickly to the other side of the flat. It was not even close to enough. "I can't let anything happen to you. I won't. We need to call McGee, we need to get you out of here-"

"I don't _care_ ," she repeated, frown returning as she marched towards him resolute, " _I won't let you face this alone._ "

Nick looked at her. _Really_ looked at her. 

And there was a wild gleam in her eyes. It was the strength he didn't have, it was the resilience he lacked, it was the courage. Ellie nodded slightly, her hand caressing his forearm until he let it drop. She gave a slight nod, eyes softening. It conveyed a message he understood.

 _I'm your partner_.

And that was enough.

°°°

"Fine," he replied, taking deep breaths to relief the impending cough, "just don't let the last thing I hear be a complaint."

"Great, will do." She pulled him towards the other side of the room, "you have the bed tonight. _Now_. You need to rest."

"But- but what about you? I'll much prefer to cough my lungs out than let you sleep on the floor." 

"I think it's big enough for two people." She looked at him and Nick was studying her face, sitting down on the bed. His eyelids turned heavy, and she wondered if he was worst than he let on. "I promise you won't even notice I'm here."

"Hm," he huffed, eyes closing with a sigh, "I can't promise you that."

He would _definitely_ notice her sleeping right next to him. 

Eleanor Bishop? Braless? In the same bed as him? 

Nick smiled softly, more to himself than to her. 

He fell down the bed, suddenly very tired. 

Bishop pulled the shutters closed and turned off the light, getting to the side of the bed rested against the wall. She made a little division with the duvet, marking their sides as she gave Nick a pillow. 

They stayed lied like that for a few minutes, their breathing slowing down but still there. Nick coughed a few times, and he turned his back to her once he noticed the division she had made. 

There was no way on earth Eleanor Bishop would let him sleep with her.

Well, they were in the same bed, _sleeping together_ , but still... His dreams of waking up with her in his arms were crushed with the very simple act of her turning to the other side. She would rather face the wall than face him.

 _How_ did he got himself in this situation again?

He waited a few minutes until he could feel her stop moving, her breathing slowing down to slumber. Nick turned his body to her, eyes studying the curve of where her neck met her shoulder, hidden under a mane of golden hair. If he could just move it- just a little bit- 

Bishop seemed so close. 

But still _so far_.

"Come here often?" Nick whispered, testing to see if she was asleep. 

She was, the soft sound of her breathing making his heart skip a beat.

Bishop was right there- right next to him, her body emanating heat directly to his skin, making it prickle. He remembered the fantasy he had had with her just today, the many fantasies he'd had during the course of the last years, and what he would be able to do if he wasn't tired- so tired...

His vision turned blurred and Nick tried to keep his eyes open to the sight of her sleeping just next to him. Of Eleanor Bishop sleeping at the same _bed_ as him. With him. 

Nick smiled.

"You have the voice of an angel." His voice was softer than a whisper, a secret he let the world know.

There was silence.

"...what?" Ellie replied, not sure if she had heard it correctly.

Oh, god. He was wrong. 

Nick's eyes shot open at her voice, the one he thought was sound asleep. He felt himself burning, the flustering warming his cheeks as he tried to think of a quick answer. 

"Uh, I mean- I mean Lucifer. You have the voice of Lucifer. The angel. Climbing through the pits of hell."

Ellie smiled and was pleased she wasn't facing him for once. She was surprised he had this kind knowledge about angels, but once again, he could surprise her in many ways. 

Confessioning to no one but the night was one of them. 

She didn't know if he'd meant it or if it was just a joke. How could've he had meant what he said? He was sick and tired and it was late. 

"You're hallucinating." 

Nick let out a sigh. She'd bought it. That horrible attempt of fixing his mistake. He promised himself to not let him slip again, not let the guard down. 

"You're right."

Ellie smiled, though with a glint of sadness this time. She _was_ right, he hadn't meaned it. There was no way on earth Nick Torres would compliment her freely like that. Not after how bitter she'd showed she was, not after shutting him down countless times.

For not the first time that night, Ellie wished things were different.

Perhaps they would've been a great _something_ in another life. 

Her eyes started to close, thoughts trailing to no other than the man right beside her, breathing slowing down as well.

"Goodnight, Torres," she said.

Some minutes passed, and she thought he'd fell asleep.

The stars shone bright, the moonlight peeking out from the closed shutters to watch the two lovers sleep together, but painstakingly separately. 

"Goodnight, Bishop."


	4. The soup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Quite the View - Luca](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdhN-579TFQ)

The first day was horrendous.

Nick didn't even leave the bed that day, he just complained about how his head hurt because of the sunlight and Ellie kept the shutters closed the whole time. He shivered even in his sleep, forehead furrowed in a frown whenever she measured his temperature. The medicines helped, but the fever was still quite high, his body covered in droplets of sweat. Ellie called McGee to let the team know what had happened, and his take on it was that they both must stay isolated, there was enough food for a couple of days anyway. 

The coughing was still there but she noticed it wasn't dry like the news about the virus told her so. Nick slept the whole day, only his scalp visible from under the covers, while Bishop tried her best to gather all 'evidence' she could about this disease. Her fingernails were already destroyed by the end of the day, eyes blinking away the dizziness of spending hours glued to her phone screen. Torres tossed and tossed in his sleep, mumbling incoherent words and calling for her, then saying nothing, eyes blinking till he drifted to sleep again.

When the sun disappeared behind the skyline and cool darkness spread once Ellie opened the shutters, she nudged him on the shoulders to force him to eat.

"Mmm," Nick mumbled, sitting on the edge of the bed with eyes closed, "I'm awake. I'm-" he tried to stand up but Ellie had to catch him not to fall, making him sit down again.

"Here, have this." She pushed a bowl of warm soup in his hands, from which he ignored the spoon and started slurping directing from the plate. "How are you feeling?"

"I never felt better," his eyes were closed and some soup spilled down his chin. Ellie cleaned it with a napkin.

"We're doomed then," she said. Nick smiled softly, his eyes slowly opening up a bit.

He stopped eating, blinking tiredly in front of her. "Are you feeling anything?"

"No, nothing. Just a lot of worry," she pushed the bowl again to his lips, making him scoff, "eat."

"This tastes like worry." Nick slurped anyway, the heat of it making his throat feel better.

"Please stop wasting what's left of your strength on complaints about a soup you can't even taste." 

She smiled, eyes softening as he closed his own eyes again and finished what was left of it, giving the bowl back to her. Nick sighed as if relieved of something. The soup had made him better. Her caring, her concern-

"Mmm..." he moaned, pulling the covers again to his chin as he laid down, "I need to be sick more often."

"Don't even dream of it."

"I'll dream of you then."

Ellie turned to him, eyebrows raised when she found him smiling softly with eyes closed. After a few seconds, Nick was already sound asleep, now with a little color on his cheeks. He seemed better.

She wondered if he was indeed dreaming of her.

°°°

The second day passed by in a blur.

The coughing had subsided to a faint discomfort on his chest, the sneezing now also less frequent. Nick thought it appeared more of a common cold than anything else, his body wouldn't be healthy this quickly if it was the virus. He imagined that Bishop would've got it too, if it was, so that calmed his mind a little. He liked to think his fast recovery was also due to the fact she was caring so much for him, even humming softly while she washed the dishes, which helped him peacefully found his way into sleep again.

After all these years of partnership, Nick had never seen this side of her, this nurturing, caring part of her personality. She was so kind and sweet with him, he felt he was being taken care of by a fairy, such a contrast to the first couple of days in lockdown. He must have given her quite a scare because she made sure to contact McGee and Kasie every couple of hours to tell him how he was, which was just adorable. 

Ellie gave him hot soup and lots of cups of water to go with medicine and hydrate him. He was feeling tired, but now a nice warm kind of tired, the one people have when they don't need to worry about being cared for. 

Every hour that passed, he fell harder for her. 

By night, Nick wanted to take a shower. He wanted to be, to _feel_ presentable for Bishop after sleeping for a whole day. He didn't care if this was a horrible situation, isolated in closed quarters with his nose and lungs crying for help. He _needed_ to show her a nicer side of him.

Especially after how soft she'd turned once he became sick.

"Ellie," he called her name gently, sitting on the edge of the bed. She was there in a second, eyes wide to help him. Nick smiled softly. "Would you help me get to the bathroom? I know this is a weird question," he added once he saw her eyebrows raise slightly, "but just shove me in there and close the door, please?"

Ellie studied his face for a minute, probably wondering if he was turning delusional. "Sure," she finally replied, nodding.

She grabbed his forearm and pulled, helping him stand up. Nick put his arm around her shoulders and Ellie guided him to the bathroom, closing the door behind him without questioning anything, a slight glint of concern in her eyes. 

He sighed relieved. And felt better.

°°°

Ellie doubted if Nick felt any better.

Yes, he looked better, at least he was now up, but she didn't like it all how easy it was for her to carry him to the bathroom. He spent the whole day shivering, grunting whenever the coughing came, tossing and turning in the bed.

She heard the shower faucet turn on, and was calmer now that he managed to do that. Ellie texted Jimmy, asking for advice and he listed a few medicine and treatments she could do while isolated. That didn't stop her from continuing biting her nails, her still-to-wash hair fixed in a bun.

Nick had to get better. He just had to, there was no other way, no other way she'd let herself think of. He was a muscular guy, his body could fight this disease easily, right?

 _Right_?

A loud bang echoed coming from the bathroom, and in a second, Ellie was already knocking loudly on the door.

"Nick? NICK?" She heard a low grunt from inside, and that was enough confirmation for her to burst the door open.

He was at the ground, thankfully already dressed, with a hand on his forehead as he squinted his eyes. 

There was blood covering it. 

"Oh, God," Ellie squatted down, pulling his hand to see what had happened, "I'm away for mere minutes and you're already killing yourself."

"I think- I think I fell asleep," Nick replied looking at his bloodied fingers, "I think I fell asleep while shaving."

"Of course you did that, of course." She touched the new cut on his forehead, blood painting her fingers too as she tried to measure how deep it was. "Nick, this won't be needing stitches, but I'll need to clean it, okay? You must have cut it with the razor." 

"Great," he mumbled, tiredness evident in his sigh, "I'm sorry, Bishop. I'm an idiot. Apparently, I'm weaker than I thought." 

"You don't need to be sorry," her eyes searched for his and Nick was surprised when she cracked a smile, "none of this is your fault."

She looked at him as if there was a double meaning in her words, as if it went beyond the situation, as if to say none of the quarantine was his fault. None of the fact there were locked together in a shitty apartment was his fault. 

Warmth spread in his heart. 

Nick nodded softly, understatement filling his eyes. 

"Here, let's fix this." Bishop pulled him up, guiding him towards the bed until he was safe sitting on the mattress. Nick's head was pounding, his vision so blurred by dizziness that he closed his eyes with a sigh. 

She came back a moment later with the first aid kit.

A light sting in his forehead made him wince. "I'm sorry," she said, and Nick opened his eyes.

Ellie was stationed between his legs, a scowl of concentration in her face as she tried to clean his cut the best she could with gauze. She had her tongue out involuntarily, a habit he'd picked she would do whenever the task was too hard. His eyes traveled across her face studying how close she was, her faint floral smell intoxicating his mind and making him inhale deeply a couple of times. Whiskey eyes were fixed on the job, making him feel drunk just by gazing at them too long. He drifted south to her mouth, that so-kissable mouth, soft lips with her tongue grazing the bottom one. 

God, she was driving him crazy.

Ellie felt hands suddenly holding her hips, a thumb making soft circles at the exposed skin just above her hipbones. 

She was trying her best not to look at his eyes, but when she felt he'd started to stare, it was too much to bear. 

His own were fixed on her lips, Nick's breathing hard in contrast to the soft grip of his hands on her hip. Ellie's hand hovered midair, cut already cleaned and already forgotten. Her heart was thundering in her chest, her own breathing flustered by how close he was, how close he felt. If only he could come a little bit closer...

Nick let his head fall to her stomach, shoulders trembling as his grip hardened on her waist. Fingers still circled her skin, and Ellie found her own hand rising to caress his hair. 

Nick could feel her heartbeat, a racing rhythm when her hands started to stroke the back of his head. He closed his eyes, inhaling her scent, his own pulse a deafening roar in his ears.

"You smell divine."

Her voice left her at his words, mind stuttering over itself as she tried to think of a fast response, just as Nick planted a soft kiss at the base of her stomach. 

Ellie herself closed her eyes, warmth spreading and a strong tickle rising where he'd touched her skin. Her throat closed, and all she could think of was how he'd said that, his voice low and raspy, almost drunk as his breath caressed her skin. All she could think of was how many times she'd felt something more than just friendship from him, how many times she had fantasized about this moment, about his hand gripping her hips, about being close to him, about being closer...

"You're delusional," she replied in a gasp of breath.

His fingers stopped making circles in a halt. 

Nick's hands fell to her sides, the memory of a touch burning in her skin, her heartbeat too loud in her ears.

"We should get some sleep," he said, eyes opening up again but looking to all places but her own. Ellie let her hands go, blinking away the need of touching him as she felt him pushing her away, having to take a few steps back in the process.

Her mind roared in questions, thoughts of doubt and lust twisting over themselves as her throat went dry. Ellie felt heat rising to her cheeks, her neck flustered with shame.

"Of course."

Nick laid down, turning to the other side and leaving her alone with her thoughts. She felt herself sighing, turning off the lights a moment after.

Bishop climbed to the bed, side facing the wall and eyes burning with mortification. Of course he was right, they let themselves go. They let themselves get too close, too close to a moment they weren't supposed to share. They weren't lovers, they were coworkers, and even with the obvious attraction they felt for each other, they needed to control themselves or it would lead to many complications. 

Nick stared at the back of her head, clenching his teeth with all he could, trying his best not to just forget all the walls they've built over the years and risk it all shortening the space that was too wide between them. He closed his eyes, trying to calm down his breathing and needs, but found himself opening it again to study her turned to the opposite wall.

His heart thundered in his chest, and Torres swallowed dry. Of course she was right, he was delusional. He was sick and crossed a line he wasn't supposed to cross, she would never see him as more than a coworker, as more than a friend. He was forever going to be the 'other guy', watching her go in and out of relationships without ever being seen as a man. As _her_ man.

"Goodnight, Nick," her voice was as soft as a whisper.

His mind was listing all the guys she'd chosen instead of him, reminding himself she would never see him as one of them. 

Nick closed his eyes, cursing the heavens for making him fall in love like that.

"Sweet dreams," he replied.

And Ellie did dream of him that night.

°°°

The third day was silent.

They didn't speak of anything from the day before, even if their minds screamed of it over and over again. Nick was feeling better, the desire of wanting to sleep for eternity gone as his vision and breathing turned normal again. They spent the whole morning cleaning the kitchen and washing the sheets, working in silence and bumping awkwardly into each other from time to time. 

By the time the evening fell and the stars colored the sky silver, they began cooking dinner, working naturally as a team without exchanging a word. 

Love can be quite palpable, you see.

It's in the moon, and the night, and in two unrequited lovers in a small apartment, the white television noise a constant rum in the background. 

It's in Duke Ellington coming from the street, muffled by a rusty closed balcony. It's in the color of the sky, even in a world crisis, the aurora rising even when everyone doubted about the future. Even when anxiety reigned, when each day was a new struggle, when living didn't feel like a blessing anymore. There was still light, hidden in plain sight. Love, tangible in a sweet caress, in a collective hug, when people stayed together apart, under the same sky at least. Hope, in every meaning of the word. 

Love was there, even if they'd chosen to stay blind to it.

The stars were distant, but sharpening gentle. 

Ellie pulled another sweater over her head. The apartment felt colder tonight, for some reason. Probably because they both tried their very best not to touch each other at all, apologizing profusely every time it accidentally happened. Nick didn't ask her about it, but filled two glasses with wine all the same. He turned to offer her one just in time to hear Bishop curse under her breath. 

"What?"

"The heater is off," she replied, hands rubbing her shivering arms under two sweaters already. "Worse, I think it isn't even turning on anymore," she tried pushing all the buttons and commands in it, but it looked like it could be ten years old.

"Let me see," Nick put both glasses on the kitchen counter, squatting at her side to take a closer look. Ellie stood up, studying him narrow his eyes at the heater, thinking how cute he looked scrunching his nose like that. 

"You know, I'm not that cold..."

"Shush, if there's one thing Nick Torres can do - except for swooning the ladies - is fix things," he wiggled an eyebrow to her, to which Ellie huffed a laugh. She turned around to hide her smile. "Let me have my moment," he said.

"Sure, muscles-boy. Go ahead." She noticed the two already filled glasses of wine on top of the counter, and smiled softly. She didn't even know there was wine there to begin with.

"HA- GOT IT!" Nick said after a few grunts and whispers in Spanish, "voilá."

Ellie turned to him, opening a big grin when she saw he actually _had_ fixed it, a wide smile displaying his pride. She ran to the heater, putting her hands close to in a shell shape, the heat kissing her skin warm. "Mmmmm," she mumbled, resting her head on it, "it's sooo warm."

Nick rubbed the back of his neck, changing the stance of his feet once he heard her moan like that. It seemed too real, too similar to his dreams, too tangible-

"Thank you, Mr. Torres," she said, honey eyes soft. 

Now he was certain she was flirting. 

And who was him to back away from that?

"Just say the word, Miss Bishop," he licked his lips with a new glint in his eyes, "and I'll do anything."

"Anything?" it escaped her mouth before she could refrain it.

"Anything."

Her cheeks reddened, but they continued to stare at each other for a moment too long. The air was so electric their breathing turned shallow, heartbeats taking place of words, racing equally till it turned to thunder from inside.

Bishop was the one to break their stare, standing up again and padding towards the kitchen. She raised both eyebrows at him while she sipped her wine, and the laugh Nick gave her was enough proof of his understanding.

°°°

They watched the news together, sharing looks when they became too harsh and not promising at all. Nick wrapped an arm around Ellie's shoulders when they showed the empty streets around the world, which at the same time made her sad and warm. It was nice to feel him there, his body an anchor around her. They drank sweet wine and disentangled themselves when the bad news ended, smiles showing up instead when a movie - then another one right after - filled their evening.

It was nice being distracted, and it was nice being distracted by each other. 

Their eyes were more searching confirmation in each other than watching the movie, laughs more frequently than not. Ellie had opened the shutters, and now soft light pooled into the room, silver moonlight making their eyes twinkle with affection to that moment together. The hours passed, and the movies ended, the following silence turning awkward despite their efforts of keeping it light.

Soon they were saying goodnight, turning opposite ways as darkness filled the room.

There are different types of darkness.

There's the black type of darkness, the scary type, of criminals and monsters, the real villain of bedtime stories. 

There's the alone type of darkness, the 2 am darkness which you share with yourself, only yourself, the crickets and your thoughts, dreaming while the world is asleep. 

There's the sad type of darkness, the friend of the brokenhearted and the message that another day had inevitably come to an end.

There's also the sweet type of darkness. The most precious one, of lovers sharing a secret along with the moon and the stars, of wine-drunk laughter and soft caresses. Of electric shocks when touches met, of untamed fire and burning need. Of sugar-filled kisses and whispered confessions, of two bodies fusing as one with desire-filled devotion. It was the type of darkness the sailors sang about, the sirens repeated and the stars danced to.

It was that type of darkness that filled the room.

But despite the warm wine filling their bellies and burning in their veins, despite the palpable electricity and the too heavy silence and despite their matching feelings for each other, the two secret lovers drifted to sleep, faces turned to opposite walls and smiles displayed because of each other, but not for the other to see. 

They didn't have a choice, you see.

Fate said otherwise.

°°°

Ellie woke up in the middle of the night, feeling as if she was inside an iceberg.

 _What the hell_... She turned to Nick, who was shivering even in his sleep, body exposed when she noticed she had stolen the whole duvet for herself. 

"Nick," she whispered, "Nick, wake up."

"Hmmm? Hmmm yes? No, no, it's to remind me of something," his words were jumbled.

"What?"

"The water. The jar. It's a reminder..." he drifted off to sleep again.

"Nick," she shook his arm, making him jump, "Nick, wake up. Don't you feel the cold?"

He blinked blurred eyes, rubbing them and turning to her, "dios mio, this feels like Ice Age. Like- like your stone-cold heart."

"Ha-ha," Ellie put her legs over his, standing up shivering and darting to the heater, which was now laughably dead.

He followed her, yawning and squinting down his eyes to it, pushing all the buttons. Nick started to curse when it didn't work, Ellie already searching for the sweaters and extra covers to use. 

Fate laughed at them. 

"I'm gonna call maintenance," she started dialing in the dark, the light of the screen painting her face blue.

"And what? They tell us how to fix this at 3 am while we're both supposed to stay in isolation?" his sarcasm traveled the way towards her, stinging the air. 

"They're not picking up anyway," she said after a few seconds on the phone.

"No kidding."

Ellie went to the kitchen and cursed when she saw the sheets drying at the corner of the room. They were still wet, she discovered. They _were_ going to die, weren't they? Not from flu anymore, but from straight-up hypothermia. She pulled a sweater over her clothes and grabbed another for Nick, tossing in his face where he was still squatted on the floor, trying to find the mistake on the heater.

"Forget it," she certified the windows were closed shut before climbing on the bed, hands rubbing her arms, "forget it, I was already okay with the premise of dying here anyway."

"It's my fault."

"It's _not_ your fault, Nick," she turned to him, who was still on the floor, "you tried to help and it actually did, for a couple of hours. We would've died a lot earlier if it wasn't for you."

"Oh, I was the hero of the night, then," his voice was filled with disappointment, and he stood up, pulling the sweater over his head. 

He sniffed it. It had that faint lavender smell - her smell - making him smirk.

They did give up, saying goodnight again as they tried their best not to feel anything. The coldness stang their skin, a numb feeling in all the bad places. After cursing for a whole while as they both shivered under the thin covers, the air as cold as the lonely night outside, Nick turned to her.

"Ellie?"

"Mmm?" she tried to stop her teeth from grinding because of the cold, failing.

"What if... what if we used each other?"

"Uh... what?" she huffed a laugh, scowling in the dark.

A moment passed and she thought perhaps he'd gone to sleep, but the uncharacteristic lack of sound of his breathing made her doubt that.

"What if we used each other as heat?" he blurted out in one go, as if it was a secret he had to spill fast, or he wouldn't find the courage to do it again.

Despite the cold filling her lungs, and the dread that rose in her fingertips, Ellie felt a familiar warmth creep up her neck to her cheeks, a familiar tingle in her stomach, making her fingers curl under the covers.

"What do you mean?"

Nick took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts in a coherent response to try to give it to her. "I mean, that's what they did in the war, right? Body heat, as humans. Just war pals, trying to battle through the cold together, not a big deal," he huffed a nervous laugh, nodding in shame right after, "I promise to control myself."

Damnit, control himself? Who was he, a pervert? Gosh, he'd screwed up, this was an opportunity laid in a silver plater, a plate of food appearing under his nose only for him to watch it go to another table. He cursed mentally, hitting his forehead with a fist and wincing once he remembered the recent cut. Great, he screwed up, she was going to refuse, she was going to-

"Seems reasonable." 

Ellie cursed mentally when she noticed the smile was quite obvious in her voice, even after seconds of mustering the silence, fireworks exploding in her mind.

Nick heard the angels sing, and made a mental note of thanking them later. A big smile was now plastered on his face, and he couldn't feel more glad Gibbs had put them in a stakeout together in the first place.

"Okay," he replied, a hand covering his mouth trying to send the smile away but failing. 

"Okay," Ellie said, feeling hard to breathe as her heart thundered in her ears, "no big deal."

"No big deal."

She felt rather than saw the mattress shift, his weight changing place as he turned to her. 

Nick tried to savor the moment, studying her waiting for him to come closer. He smiled, thanking the stars for breaking the goddamn heater. 

Ellie wondered if he had given up, but a moment later, a strong arm circled her waist, making her gasp with how warm he felt. Nick pulled her closer to his body, which felt like a stone, a warm strong stone behind her, almost making her heart explode. Another arm passed under her neck, wrapping around her shoulders and steading her. His legs entangled with hers and she felt his breathing caress her neck, a warm sensation spreading over her body. 

Nick's heart was a loud roar in his ears. He made sure to pull her as close as possible, not a gap between them as his arms hugged her body. Such a soft, small body inside them, but so so warm. She was like a fireplace among the cold room, live fire hugging him close. Her smell was everywhere, intoxicating his senses and clouding his thoughts, and he had to smile once she was her angling herself closer, exposing her neck as an invitation for him to kiss her pulse. 

He didn't give her the satisfaction. Not yet, at least.

"Good night, Ellie," Nick smiled, arms holding her tighter.

She felt his thumb make lazy circles on her arm and wondered if it was intentional.

"Good night, Nick," Ellie replied.

And as lovers finally succumbed to the right type of darkness, the stars bright around them while in each other's arms, peace reigned as they drifted off to the land of dreams.

And with that, fate smiled, job completed at last.


	5. The song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Mystery of Love - Sufjan Stevens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WTt69YO2VI)

Ellie awoke, warm and rested and calm. 

Safe.

Sunlight streamed through the filthy window, illuminating the reds and golds around her as if she'd just waken up clothed in light. 

Nick's arms were banded around her - where they had been all night, shielding her from the cold - his breathing deep and even. And somehow she knew how rare it was for him to sleep that soundly, peacefully. 

Carefully, she twisted to face him, his arms tightening slightly, as if to keep her from vanishing with the morning mist. His eyes were open when she nestled her head against his arm. Within the closed walls of the small apartment, they watched each other. 

And Ellie realized she might very well be content to do exactly that forever.

"Hi," she said quietly, studying how soft his dark brown eyes looked in the morning light. Like melting chocolate.

"Hi," Nick replied, a hand rising up to push a strand of her hair away from her face. His hand fell to her waist, as if that was the most natural thing to do then.

"It's warm now," the apartment felt definitely better, and a stretch of her neck over his shoulder proved her suspicion that the heater was on again, the green light visible at the power button. "We don't need to be this close anymore."

Nick blinked, his eyes turning even softer then Ellie imagined possible. He glanced at her lips, which opened slightly against her will. "I know," he said.

 _They didn't need it, that didn't mean he didn't want to_ , he thought.

Nick wanted to hold her forever.

"I'm gonna take a shower," said Ellie, but her eyes were still glued to his, which were glued to her mouth. She traced her lips with her tongue involuntarily and Nick let out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes finally. 

A moment passed, and Ellie thought she'd stopped breathing, watching his reaction. Her heart was plummeting till it suddenly sank when he disentangled their legs, a sign of letting her go.

"I'm gonna go make breakfast," Nick sat down and glanced at the clock at the bedside table, "or lunch. Brunch. Gonna make us brunch." It was way past noon. He hadn't sleep this well in ages.

Ellie replied softly, "okay." She rubbed her eyes, getting up and making her way to the bathroom. A warmth spread over Nick's chest by how adorable she looked stumbling towards the door.

She stopped right in front of the bathroom doorframe, and Ellie wasn't sure if it was the feeling of safety, or confinement or a flash of courage, but an idea dawned on her a second later, and a smile cracked in her lips. 

She waited until she was sure Nick's eyes were on her, the feeling of being watched tingling at the back of her neck, before pulling the sweatshirt over her head.

And then the shirt.

She didn't need to turn back to know he was holding his breath, the clear hiss he gave once her shirt fell to the ground was confirmation enough. 

Nick couldn't look away, couldn't believe her bashfulness when Ellie didn't say a word to him, closing the door with a laugh. It was mere seconds of glorious half-nakedness, but the image of her slender shoulder blades and low back dimples made his head swim, burning in vision even he finally had to blink away. Nick gave a loud sigh, breathing again and laying his head on the pillow, opening up a big smile. All the soft warmth in his body had turned to focused heat on his skin, the already morning hard-on she'd caused it now an undeniable boner.

He burst out laughing, not believing he had the luck to acquire such a partner, who was soft light and living fire at the same time. 

And even with the flustering red burning on her cheeks, Ellie smiled on the side of the door as she heard him laugh. 

It didn't seem like the end of the world at all.

°°°

After taking a shower, Nick chose his finest black T-shirt, the one he knew fit his worked-up torso well, hugging him at all the right places. He was expecting to catch her off guard, the way he always succeeded when he wore it to the navy yard.

He didn't expect, however, to find Bishop with her ear glued to the window, eyes shut closed in concentration. _Great_ , now his weapon was ruined. 

"Do I even want to ask you what you're doing?" He said, hanging the towel around his neck. 

Ellie opened her eyes to him, and he had to smile, puffing up his chest a little as he felt her eyes travel down his body unashamed.

She felt the blushing rise to her cheeks a moment after, looking down to her feet, nowhere near his sculptured body. _Man, how could someone have a body like that?_

"Do you hear something?" she coughed slightly and gestured clumsily to the window, where Nick walked to. Very slowly and _very_ close to her. 

There was music.

There was a clear male voice reverberating from somewhere over the street, the energetic melody somehow familiar, and Nick stretched his neck to see it better. 

"It's a guy," he burst a laugh, face lighting up, "it's a guy completely dressed as Elvis from head to toe, singing his life out," he looked at Ellie and her eyebrows were raised in surprise. She nudged him to get a chance to see, Nick pointing to a flat at the other side of the street, directly opposite to them but a few levels down.

"So we lost our suspect but won Elvis," she said, gluing her ear to the window again to listen to it better.

"I thought I was never going to say this, but I do prefer Elvis," Nick laughed, watching the scene. 

He studied Ellie's face brightening when she recognized the song, humming along with the notes as they traveled from the other side of the street.

"Get out of there."

"What...?" she turned to him confused.

"Move along, get out of there," she scowled at his smile, and Nick took out the towel from his neck and stepped forward once Ellie unglued herself from the window.

His muscles tightened up when he got hold of the doorknob, pushing with all his strength until he heard a snap. The rusty balcony door opened up with a screech, scratching the floor in the progress. 

Ellie took a minute admiring that plain masculinity he naturally let out, her eyes dropping from his arms to his toned thighs. Nick let out a grunt and stumbled back a little when the door gave away, making her stagger back as well.

Sunset light spilled over the flat at the same time soft wind freshened up the air. Orange and pink colored the sky and loud music blasted from outside, transforming the rundown room in a Verona balcony in a second. Ellie let herself run to it, hands propelling her body forward as she laughed to the man singing ['Burning Love'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf2VYAtqRe0) from the other side of the street. She noticed other families and groups of people watched him too, all gathered in their small respective apartments. 

She closed her eyes, letting the breeze kiss her hair and the feeling of freedom invade her senses as she raised her face to the sky. Ellie felt the sun over her closed eyelids, and music blasting loudly from everywhere, guitar notes and neighbors' laughter intertwining. She inhaled deeply, the smell of fresh air and hope calming her heart and warming her at the same time. 

She felt so relieved to be alive.

Nick watched her from behind, completely baffled. His feet had dragged him to her as if she was a siren, as if it was _in fact_ witchcraft, her frame golden against the sunset sky. 

Music pulsated in his veins, but the world seemed to slow down for a moment. The moment she laughed.

Nick had never felt so much transfixed for something than when Bishop laughed to the sky, eyes closed against the golden sunlight, body bending down forward on the balcony, face the epitome of joy. 

If he had any doubts before, now he was plain certain: he wanted to hear that laugh until his final moment.

She turned to him and he realized how still he was, breathing difficult as he tried to blink away the enchantment. 

"You do the food, I'll get the wine," Ellie said laughing again, the smile lighting up her whole face until her honey eyes were smiling as well, "we need a celebration."

Nick blinked, letting out a hush of breath as the words sank in his mind.

"Yeah, yeah, let's celebrate." He opened a wide grin, to which Ellie just laughed in return, darting inside to prep the evening as she started to sing along, voice filling the walls. 

The image of her carefree laughter would be engraved on his mind forever, and that alone was reason to celebrate. 

Nick ran to the edge of the balcony, bending his body forward as he let a marveled scream to the disappearing sun. 

Ellie laughed in return, making his eyes drift back to her, dancing with utter joy inside. 

And the world was okay, he thought. They were okay and everything was going to be okay, as long as there was love around. And _finally_ , love had not only knocked on the door, but burst the whole of it wide open, letting sunlight and joy spill over the flat as the wind carried the melody from a stranger to everyone's hearts, a speckle of hope brightening up the future.

 _And that laugh_ , Nick smiled, _that laugh could teach a thing or two to summer itself_ , he thought. 

And with that, the sun disappeared, laughing as well.

°°°

One hour later, they were already tipsy.

"What?!" said Nick, while Ellie giggled holding her third glass of sparkling wine, "I am not a coward for picking truth. If anything, this is your opportunity to find out _all of my darkest secrets_."

"Okay, okay then," she felt like laughing, so free and light, "okay then Niccck Torresss," Ellie dragged out his name, making his insides tingle, "tell me one regret."

His eyes burnt from the intensity of his stare, trailing her body from time to time. Soft music was carried by the light breeze from the world outside, traveling the street to their small room. He felt very hot, but it was a good sensation, reds and golds dancing on his vision as they went through the second bottle of red wine as if it was water. Moonlight painted her skin silver from where Ellie was sitting on the bed, legs crossed underneath her and back leaning against the half-wall that divided the flat. Nick had taken a spot at the opposite edge of the bed, one leg on the floor and another bent in front of him, back turned to the recently acquired balcony. 

He felt drunk only by the sight of her laughing so much, though the wine seemed to help.

"I once started dating someone to get over a girl I liked," Nick replied, eyes fixed on her reaction.

She squinted, wondering if he was referring to the one time their dates had turned into a double date, when both of them had chosen different people and somehow coincidences brought them together at the end.

He was.

Nick smiled, remembering how surprised he was when he saw Ellie on his date a few months back, as if fate was laughing at his poor attempt of getting over her. It was a pretty amazing sign she was actually the one he should be investing in, though the whole night he'd spent thinking only about her, and not his date. 

"And who was this _girl_ , uh?" she smirked over her glass.

He smirked as well. They both knew the answer to that.

"Shush, blondie. You have no right to follow-up questions." Nick sipped his wine, huffing a laugh as he saw her blushing, "come now, truth or dare?"

Ellie thought for a moment, drinking and swaying her glass. "Dare," she said resolute.

Nick raised an eyebrow, pouting as he thought of a good challenge. "You, Miss Bishop," he said, eyes landing on her and immediately Ellie was giggling under his stare, "will send a text for Jack as Gibbs asking her on a date."

Ellie halted, confused. "That _is_ a great dare, Agent Torres, though don't you think I'll need his phone to do that?"

"You're right. He wouldn't use a phone," said Nick, completely missing the point she was trying to make, "you're going to write a love letter for her."

He smiled goofily, and something in his face lit up like that made Ellie stop arguing with him. "Fine, but not now. Or else I'll just spill the beans the wrong way."

"Fair enough," Nick said, pointing to her but his finger swayed from side to side, "I'm going to remind you, blondie."

"Okay," she laughed at how slurred his voice was, how carefree. "Moving on, then. Nick, truth or daaare?"

He tapped his finger on his chin, narrowing his eyes as if thinking hard to decide. "Dare," Nick winked at her, a blushing creeping up her cheeks at the same time wet desire pooled down. 

Ellie coughed slightly, a million inappropriate thoughts racing in her mind as she tried to think of something that didn't tread on that territory.

"Nick Torres," she said, taking a deep breath as he only stared and stared, "Nick Torres, you're gonna-" she gulped as she felt his eyes strip her bare, scratching the back of her neck in flustering, "Nick Torres, you're gonna... go. You're gonna go to the balcony and have a meaningful conversation with our Elvis friend."

She smiled satisfied, and Nick couldn't help but smile as well.

"Okay," he darted to the open balcony, leaving his glass of wine on the ground next to the door. 

The first thing he noticed was the stars. Many, many stars, spreading beyond the eye could see. Nick smiled, the stars dancing only for him. He heard music, loud music still blasting from the other side of the street, where a man dressed in a whole body-white suit, his chest bare and shoulder covered in sapphire jewels, sang with loud energy, feet swaying from side to side in rhythm with the song.

Nick bent his body over the metal edge of the balcony, a big smile displayed as he yelled, "HEY MAN!"

The guy looked at him, still dancing with the beat and waved with the hand that wasn't holding the glittery microphone. 

"MARRY ME!" Nick yelled with a grin.

"HELL YEAH!" His voice echoed through the speakers, which enticed a roar of cheers and whistles coming from the neighbors and strangers in their own apartments. 

"GREAT."

Nick turned around, beaming, making a mocked bow and taking his wine glass from the ground before jumping onto the bed.

Ellie scoffed, forehead furrowed in confusion, "I don't know... if that was a meaningful _conversation_ , Torres." She raised an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't _you_ find it meaningful if I had asked you instead?"

Ellie blinked. 

She opened her mouth once, twice, but no sound came what of it. She closed it, nodding slowly, completely taken aback by that answer.

"Yeah," she took a great swallow of her wine, "yeah, I suppose so."

Nick grinned, standing up to go to the kitchen, but not before winking at her _again_.

Ellie drank the rest of her glass, the wine burning her throat in a warm feeling and making her light-headed. She opened her eyes, and Nick was already at her side, a new bottle waiting for her to place her glass under it. She did, giggling when he put his hand over hers to stop the constant swaying, a big smile as his eyes tried to focus on the task. 

You can feel drunk by a lot of things, either by strong cocktails or by situations. 

You can feel drunk by love, by desire, by need, by something that you wished for too long and you can see it just at the horizon, finally visible for you just to stretch your hand and grasped it. 

You can feel drunk by not drinking anything, just by opening your arms towards the moon, the stars swaying around you at 2 am while you're alone at your rooftop. 

You can feel drunk by laughter, when you laugh too much and fall to the ground, crying tears of joy as your stomach hurt with it. 

You can feel drunk by adrenaline, the spare of a second between jumping from an airplane and feeling the fall.

You can also feel drunk by drinking and drinking and drinking wine.

But being drunk by wine is different. It burns, but also warms you, it's the flame that set fire to your most hidden needs and wishes, the ones not even you were aware. 

Torres and Bishop were drunk by wine, but also drunk by love, and laughter and adrenaline. 

There was no stopping now.

"Truth or dare, B?" He laughed.

She smiled, she liked when he'd called her that. "Truth," she said, eyes twinkling.

"Did you ever fall in love?"

"Yes."

Her answer was already out, without even given her chance to doubt it. Yes, she fell in love. Yes, there was no doubt about it. Of course, yes, she was in love.

"How did it end?" Nick asked, his voice low, almost a whisper.

Ellie took a second to cherish it, how intimate this felt. Sharing secrets with each other, alone in a forgotten apartment, only the stars and old wine for company. He looked beautiful, a smile permanent on his lips as his eyes fluttered but only looked at her. From where Nick was seated, his silhouette was framed by moonlight, mesmerizing as the silver danced around him. Ellie had had her doubts if she was in love, if she'd ever fall in love again, but that kind of moment made her believe love wasn't something you'd question. Love was something you'd only embrace, letting the door opened for it to come in. 

Love was sharing secrets in the dark, wine burning her with desire and stars illuminating him right in front of her. 

"It didn't," she replied.

People think intimacy is about sex.

But intimacy is about truth.

"It... didn't?"

"Truth or dare, Nick?"

His stare turned more intense, if it was even possible. 

"Truth," he replied.

"Why do you talk about a jar of water in your sleep?"

Nick blinked, completely unaware of when, or how or why she knew that. He felt rather than saw his cheeks blushing, and he cracked a smile while a hand uncomfortably scratched the back of his neck.

"Mmm... it's just a reminder."

Ellie waited for him to continue, raising both her eyebrows when he did not.

"A reminder of...?"

"Someone."

"You'll need to be more specific than that, Nick," she shrugged, voice slurred, "choosing truth was your choice. Choosing-choice. Choosing-choice."

"Mmm..." he had to laugh by how fast drunk-Ellie could be distracted. "It's a reminder of someone that I cannot at any circumstance lose. It's a reminder about how important that someone is for me, and how lost I would be without her. How horrible life would be if I let that happen."

"Her...?"

"Yes."

Their eyes locked, and breathing turned difficult when the words sank.

The wine made their skin tingle, but that stare was the thing that almost snapped them. The desire was too loud, the room too hot for a chilly evening, music forgotten as words ringed true in their minds. Their hearts raced as one, thundering in their ears as the pulse got only louder and louder after seconds of staring. Neither of them dared to blink, in case the moment slipped forever from reality. Spilling truths like that felt too unreal.

"Truth or dare?" Nick asked at last, inhaling deeply as he broke the contact, swallowing a good part of his remaining wine. 

"Dare," said Ellie, voice hoarse, honey eyes smoking with intensity. 

He thought for a moment.

"Dance. Just dance, let yourself go. It's the end of the world anyway." 

His words were a reminder of how close they were to risking it all, how much it really didn't matter if they did. They were isolated in an apartment foreign to them, where no one would come looking and nothing could even bother them. It _felt_ like the end, the end of years of yearning, the end of a very long unrequited love story, the end of many moments wasted and many others controlling and running away from the truth. 

"Dance?"

"Dance."

And never again another moment would be wasted anymore.

"For you or with you?" Her voice sounded like a whisper, like a question she let escape without thinking too much, a secret.

"Very good question."

Nick stood up, putting his glass on the bedside table and then walking towards the balcony, barefoot.

"HEY, LOVE?"

"YEAH, DOLL?" Elvis replied grinning, his arms open to his sides as if talking to Juliet herself.

"Play something slow, please? Trying to win the heart of someone here."

"Betraying me already, dear?"

"Never."

The soft notes of the guitar drifted with the wind towards them, just in time the powerful singer's voice started the familiar song, the slow rhythm echoing all around. They could hear people whistling and cheering from other apartments, while fake Elvis laughed from time to time.

Nick walked careful steps towards her as Ellie closed her agape mouth as he took her glass of wine and placed it next to his on the bedside table. His hand pulled her up, guiding them to the empty patch of space between the bed and the opened balcony. 

The notes revereberated inside the tiny flat, words ringing true to their souls as they were carried by the wind into the night. The lyrics spoke volumes of things they couldn't speak, couldn't even mutter even to themselves, feelings hidden deep where the eye couldn't see, but the heart could definitely feel. It made their skin tingle and stomach flutter, how perfect the melody was for this moment and how bittersweet that it was already turning into memory.

The night sky was gorgeous, little silver stars coloring their shy smiles in silver, with music that warmed their hearts and enticed cheers from everywhere. As the song continued, Nick placed a hand on her waist and Ellie let her own fall to his shoulder, fingers intwertwing together naturally on their other side. 

They started swaying slowly, feet moving from side to side as the room burned around them. 

Nick's eyes were so black Ellie let herself be swallowed whole by them, leaving them only to drift south to his soft smile. 

They were so close, the place where their touch met tingling with heat, and nothing around mattered as they danced hand in hand. 

Ellie felt her heartbeat racing, the pulse palpable in her fingertips as Nick closed even more the distance between, mouth a breath away of touching hers. 

Her whiskey eyes were intoxicating, twinkling with desire as they darted from his burning eyes to his tingling mouth. Nick could feel she was giving in, the singer's voice now muffled by how close they felt, how they were the only people in the world, how it all had led to this exact moment. 

He was going to kiss her, every fiber of his body told him so. 

_He was going to kiss her_ , Ellie thought, every cell of her body pleading for it. 

She let her eyes flutter close, feeling his hot breath caressing her cheek. 

Nick closed his eyes, inhaling how divine she smelled, how close, intoxicating.

The music came to an end.

"DID YOU LIKE IT, PAL?" Elvis yelled, his voice reverberating everywhere, "DID IT WORK?"

Ellie let her head fall to his chest, eyes closed and moment waisted. She felt dizzy. 

Nick breathed out in a huff, eyes opening when he felt her breaking the trance. 

_His heartbeat was a gallop_ , she heard. It matched her own. 

"Yeah. Yeah, bro, thanks." Nick yelled back, though his tone was far from content. 

Ellie inhaled deeply in his arms, and he felt her shudder before backing away, a sad smile on her lips. 

"There, my dare is paid."

She let her hands fall to her sides, eyes locking on his again for a moment too long. 

Nick nodded, letting his chin fall to his chest. 

Bishop walked back towards the bed, taking her glass of wine on the way as she sat just as before, legs crossed underneath her. 

Nick turned to the balcony, clenching his fingers around the door, knuckles turning white. He closed his eyes, trying to think straight while his heart screamed too loud to be rescued. 

He took a step forward, closing the door with a click. 

Darkness spilled across the room, the moonlight hidden behind the shutters as the only light inside the apartment was now the small candles Ellie had lit earlier. The song subsied to a murmur, the noises outside dying down, but when his pulse was so loud on his ears, it didn't matter. He turned around, facing her. 

She had finished her glass of wine, now empty on her hand. _Maybe she'd downed it all in one go_ , he thought. 

And Nick was surprised to see that despite her backing away, the glint of desire in Ellie's eyes hadn't left. 

More, it was as if the interruption had it made even clearer. 

"The game is over," his voice sounded hoarse, and Nick felt his hands trembling as he tried to calm his senses, "let's change it. Only truths from now on."

He saw her reevaluate for a moment, eyes roaming down his body as she did so. Ellie opened a side smirk, borderline dangerous, and let her eyes burn with the fire she felt inside. 

"Deal."

"Either you answer the truth or you take a piece of clothing off."

He let out his plan in one go, eyes fixed on hers as if challenging for battle. 

Ellie tilted her head to the side, assessing him. His hands trembled, but Nick bit down his need to just pin her down and kiss her senseless, waiting for a reaction. 

She clicked her tongue as he raised his chin, hands rubbing together as if planing her demise. The motion made his throat turn more visible, his Adam's apple very kissable from Ellie's point of view. 

She bent her body to the other side of the bed, stretching to put her empty glass on the bedtime table. Nick's eyes trailed her every movement. 

"Deal," Ellie purred to the dark.

Nick smirked in return.

 _Checkmate_ , he thought. 

He'd already won.


	6. The spice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Heart - Sleeping At Last](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IFYU8YDprY)

There was fire everywhere.

The room itself smelled of heat, the flames dancing in front of her as Nick moved an inch closer, the candles' shadows gleaming outside his frame. He licked his lips and Ellie braced herself, insides melting down to lava when she saw his Adam's apple moved up and down as he thought about the new game. His eyes were focused on her and only her, who couldn't even breathe under his intense stare. Her heart thundered inside her chest, and everything was burning, from the edge of her belly to her fingertips, the wine making it all too much.

She was going to explode.

"Have you ever thought about kissing me?"

His voice was so hoarse Ellie moved in place, licking her own lips involuntarily. Nick's eyes traced her every movement, hands clenching on his sides as she bit her lower lip, thinking. 

"You really went for the easiest one, didn't you?"

"That's the game, answer it or lose it," his eyes glinted wild as Nick opened a devilish grin, to which Ellie huffed in response.

"Fine then."

He was as still as stone controlling himself not to jump on her as Ellie uncrossed her legs and kneeled on the bed. Her hands drifted to the edge of her sweater slowly, so slowly he thought she was still deliberating to answer the question before her arms started moving. Ellie pulled the sweater above her head, and Nick huffed a laugh when he noticed he was in disadvantage as she was wearing a long buttondown underneath. But fair enough, those were the rules and she had complied. Even better, the motion of taking the sweater had dismantled her hair and now Ellie had given up the ponytail, taking the hair tie off as well.

Her golden hair floated unbound around her face, shining with the candlelight. 

Sex hair, ready to be pulled.

"Using three words, how would you describe me?" she purred, leaning back again, crossing her legs underneath her.

"Right now?" Nick let his eyes travel across her face and over her body leaning on the half wall behind the bed. Ellie crossed her arms, entirely aware of Nick eating her with his eyes. "I'd say hot. Whiskey. Goddess."

"Not now. And why whiskey?" 

"You make me drunk." Nick laughed, then looked back at her, narrowing his eyes. 

Ellie noticed he made little circles in his knee, wondering for a second if he would do it in her skin instead. 

"Beautiful. Weakness. Power. Adorable. Witch," Nick added when she didn't voice her thoughts.

"Why witch?!" she retorted, a bit lightheaded, "and those were five."

"Cause you shoot spells from your fingers, blondie. You leave me weak in the knees." He said it nonchalantly, as if it was already a fact in his mind, "cause there is no nicer witch than you."

Ellie couldn't help the smile that crept in her lips, blushing and breaking his gaze, completely taken aback by that answer. "Okay. I'll give you that one."

"Do you like your hair pulled?" Nick asked in one go, as if the words had just escaped the filter from his thoughts without self-restraint.

If Ellie was red before, she was probably plain pepper now. She huffed, licking her lips and blinking until her voice returned. Her heart was thundering in her fingertips, and in her mind a million of inappropriate thoughts raced, of him taking her then and there, of them risking it all, of those strong hands pulling her-

"Yes," she gasped, eyes locking with his again, "yes, most definitely." 

Nick smiled again, eyes going feral as he mentally noted that down.

Ellie inhaled deeply, trying to think of something that would put him off. She didn't know if she wanted that cocky grin in his face forever or if she wanted to smack it out of him. She uncrossed her legs underneath her and stretched them in front of her, to which Nick's eyes slowly drifted to admire her long limbs unashamed.

"When was the last time you touched yourself, and where were you?" she purred to the dark, eyes studying him close.

He barked out a laugh.

"I can't answer that." Nick's mind was a hundred miles per hour, the heat spreading from his torso to everywhere just at the thought of Ellie ghost touching him at the shower. His skin was tingling only with her looking at him like that, and that long legs and unbound hair weren't helping his thoughts at all.

"Why not?" she asked, and now it was Ellie's time to open a dangerous grin. 

"I just can't."

"Then you know the rules."

Nick smiled as well, then clicked his tongue. Ellie's stare on him was living fire as his hand raised over his head to take out his black T-shirt, which he promptly discarded on the floor. Her eyes roamed his bare torso, from his muscled back to the V just disappearing above the sweatpants brim. Ellie's mouth went dry, he had the body fit for a king. No wonder they started called him muscles-boy, she wanted to lick every inch of his toned abs down, down...

She coughed lightly, coming back to her senses as a moment passed. Breathing was difficult all of a sudden, her chest heaving up and down. Whenever she looked, her eyes drifted back to his shirtless torso, as if a magnet to her flaming senses. 

"What did I write on that letter?" his voice seemed affected by hunger as well.

His words sunk and Ellie grinned, remembering the message he'd left to her while hypnotized months ago. 

"Personal stuff."

"You need to give me more than that, B."

"It's personal stuff," she raised an eyebrow, challenging him to back down. She cherished that letter very much, but she knew this wasn't the time for them to discuss it, it _was_ too personal and too deep for this moment. She didn't even know if he'd write what he felt, if those words were true or only because she'd asked him so. 

Nick narrowed his eyes, noticing her determination of not backing down. "Fine," he said, crossing his arms over his bare torso and calling Ellie's attention _again_ , "I'll spare you and save you from undressing yourself. I have other questions you'll probably want to save for taking those _unnecessary_ clothes off." He opened a grin, winking.

Ellie melted again, the tingling growing in her belly and her toes curling with it. "What's your opinion about your kissing abilities?" she asked, thinking this was a nice question, an easy one between so many dangerous ones-

"Why don't you come closer and tell me that yourself?"

She was _so wrong_. Nick displayed a side smirk that could set fire to her any time of the day, but the smugness in his voice was what undid her. 

"I might," Bishop replied, eyes twinkling in the dark.

Torres was boiling. Just boiling. 

Every inch she moved or every remark she made hurt his chest, the want of just skipping this stupid game and kissing every place on her skin driving him crazy. He _almost_ couldn't refrain himself anymore, not when Bishop looked at him with such hunger, a wild glint in her eyes he'd never seen before. He wanted to kiss her senseless so much, so so much...

"When was the last dirty dream you had?" He asked, not only because he wanted to know if it was with _him_ but also because he wanted to disarm her after that 'touched yourself' question.

"Uh... I don't think I can answer that," she replied, as Ellie thought about one thing and one thing only: it was today. This morning, when she'd woken up and was surrounded by him, holding her close and safe, his warmth hugging her from every angle. It wasn't her fault, really, but something about the way he held her, so carefully and still so tightly made her mind wander on its own. "I cannot answer that at all."

"That _is_ a bummer, really," Nick said, gesturing to her clothes, "I really, really wanted to know." He actually didn't, any outcome would have been amazing.

Ellie looked at him differently, as if seeing right through his intentions. She cocked her head and a slow smile appeared on her lips, just as she let her legs fall to the ground with a soft thud and stood up. And with the same lazy smile she turned around, letting her ass in full display for him as she bent down and took out her pants, slow, and agonizingly so. 

She was wearing white lace and Nick wondered why he'd never imagined her doing that before. Maybe because at the same time she was so delicate and so bold, he never would have thought a person could be both so magnificently. But she did. 

She did and it couldn't fit her better. 

She was whiskey in a teacup, alright, and he couldn't feel drunker. 

Nick let a low growl escape his lips as she pulled her pants to the ground, letting them fall and not retrieving them. If there was one thing to be admired in her it was her long, slender legs, and Nick was doing just that. 

God, he was about to come in his pants at any moment.

"Have you ever just wanted to tear my clothes off?" Ellie asked, noticing how much it had affected him as she sat with only her buttondown and panties. Nick was squirming in his seat, eyes shutting and opening just a little to glance at her again while he bit his bottom lip. 

"God, yes," his voice had a low tone to it, almost a grunt, "don't even ask me how many times, woman." 

She smiled lazily, having won the upper hand. He was trashing at his seat, hands rubbing his own chest and then back up again, scratching his face as if trying to gather the last ounces of self-control. Ellie liked him that way.

Nick rubbed his face multiple times and clenched his jaw, trying to think straight. He'd never felt this turned on by someone doing so little. 

"Would you allow yourself to do it in a work environment?" 

He wanted to know that for some time now, if he could just pull her aside and fuck her senseless when the arousal at the bullpen became too much. He wasn't sure if she was comfortable with that, or even if Ellie had ever thought about it, dreamed about it that way, but he couldn't stop fantasizing about it. Whenever she bent too far, or stayed too close to him, or was unaware of her effect on him, it made him think of terrible things to do to her. Terrible, amazing things. 

Ellie knew he wanted to know that. It was a thing herself had thought about many times, if they could just risk it all and forgot about all the rules for a heated makeout session. It had been a great fantasy to turn back to when things demanded, his strong hands stroking her just on top of every flat surface of the bullpen or behind cupboards and restroom doors. 

Though she also knew _he_ wanted her to reply in order to use that information later on, maybe catch her off guard when she needed to focus. 

So it would be an unfortunate mistake to let the truth slip like that. 

"I think we've reached a conundrum, Nick," she purred, and his name fell like a moan on her lips, "I can't answer that and I can't take off no more clothes. You see, I'm not wearing anything underneath this," she gestured to the shirt. 

Nick's eyes closed and he inhaled deeply, clenching his jaw and moving his pelvis just a little bit up, as if by instinct. His hands opened and closed, and he chewed his lips for a while before meeting her stare again with full intensity. 

"Of all the things you said during this isolation," he let out in a hoarse voice, breathing hard, "that's probably the most terrible. Terrible, just horrible, awful. I couldn't be sadder," his sarcasm spilled all over the place, "you see, Ellie, that's the game." Her name felt different in his hoarse tone, and she wanted to make him say it again. "I'm sorry, babe. You'll have to choose."

Ellie chuckled at his satisfied grin. Now Nick's eyes were bright open, unblinking as if he wouldn't miss any second of this. She let him dwell on it a moment longer before standing up again. 

And instead of her fingers unbuttoning her shirt, they drifted down and hooked around the elastic of her panties. 

She heard him hiss the moment it clicked for him what she was about to do. 

If the room was fire before, now it was a volcano itself, sirens going off with a roar in Nick's mind.

A lacy white pantie fell on the floor and she stepped out of it. 

He couldn't think straight, he couldn't, all of his skin burning with lust. She just... She was... 

The soft blue buttondown shirt covered her, but not barely enough, ending just above her thigh. Nick locked eyes with Ellie again and he couldn't... He couldn't find his voice. They were smoking, this was the hottest thing he'd _ever seen_. 

He hissed again and a low moan erupted his lips without control, and Nick bit his bottom lip to prevent any others. God, he was gonna... He was gonna come...

Ellie grinned at how Nick trashed under her stare, he seemed to be losing control. She tried to think of something that would end him, and her grin widened when she actually did. She sat down on the bed again, pulling the shirt to conceal her, but barely. 

Her hand slowly drifted up and a button snapped open a moment later, a light breeze kissing her bare chest as she did so. Nick's lips parted slightly, tracing her every movement with intense focus. 

Ellie started to crawl in his direction, slowly, almost too slowly, and a low growl escaped again when he noticed it. Nick let his head fall, his Adam's apple bobbing as he rubbed a hand over his face, trying to calm his senses. 

When he looked back at her again, Ellie was right in front of him. 

"Is this seat taken?" 

She pointed to his lap with an innocent look on her face. 

He couldn't mutter a word, just looked at her while his heart threatened to explode at any second. 

"Good."

He tried to circle her, changing his position at the edge of the bed, but that only made matters worse. 

Ellie sat on his lap, completely commando. 

Now her figure was the one framed by the spare moonlight which escaped between the shutters, and his back was now facing the bed. 

Nick couldn't breathe. 

He couldn't breathe at all. 

He opened and closed his eyes, feeling her weight over him. 

He was rock hard underneath. 

His cock gave a jerk of his own when Ellie shifted a bit, guiding them back on the bed and tightening her legs around his own, now both his feet on the ground. 

She would be the death of him. 

"That wasn't the question," she said, honey eyes making him dizzy at how dark they looked as they darted from his lips to his own. 

"That... wasn't?" He muttered in a hoarse voice, clenching his jaw. His hands couldn't contain anymore and were already on her legs, making their way up slowly. 

Everywhere he touched felt like fire, and Ellie couldn't refrain herself from shifting her position here and there just to see him hiss. 

"It wasn't."

His hands made lazy strokes up the side of her leg, so in contrast with how rapid his breathing and heartbeat were. 

This was happening, this was actually happening, this was-

Nick growled again with crossed eyes as his hands got to the point of her hips where her underwear should have been, and found nothing. 

One more movement from her and he was gonna come, he couldn't-

He... He could.

Two could play this game.

Nick's hands trailed her sides underneath the shirt and made her shiver. His long fingers stroked up until the side of her breast, her nipples tightening with the contact. Her brain stopped functioning and Ellie stopped dead when she felt Nick's breath on the crook of her neck. 

"What was the question again?" His knuckles grazed the outside of her breasts, making her dizzy. She let out a soft gasp once his heated breathing caressed her neck, and his lips hovered in the spot she wanted so much of him to touch. 

Ellie couldn't think straight, the skin of her neck prickling as he let his lips brush over it ever so slightly. She moved, impossible to be contained, and felt Nick's growl on her jaw. 

"I don't remember-" her eyes fluttered close just as he planted the softest kiss on her pulse, knuckles making circles and getting closer and closer to her sensitive nipples. 

His hands shot down to grip her waist tight when Ellie let out a moan just in sync with his teeth nibbling at the crook of her neck. She straddled his hips, feeling his growing erection hard beneath the fabric, hands raising up to caress the back of his head. 

Nick's kisses turned frantic by the growing volume of her moaning, sucking and nipping on the sensitive spot just under her ear. 

"I have a question then," his voice was so hoarse and slurred she almost couldn't define the words. "The game isn't over."

Nick's hands gripped her tight by the waist and she couldn't stand anymore, humping on his rock hard erection as her folds got wetter and wetter. "Hum?" was all Ellie could muster, nibbling the shell of his ear. 

"Do you consider me more than a friend?" 

His kisses slowed down to stop, until she was forced to lean back to look at his eyes. Black eyes, the color of mystery, secrets and unknown. The color of heated pleasure exploding into ink. The color of shadows, and smoke and darkness. A darkness so desirable it called her in her dreams. 

His eyes studied hers with a care she did not have, while his fingers made patterns on her skin. 

Ellie let her own hands cup his face, and when Nick's eyes glinted as he smirked, a shiver ran down her spine. 

She had lost the game. 

Nick's own grin widened once he noticed she had understood, amusement and even a flicker of admiration filling her features. 

Either she answered the question and told out loud what both of them needed to hear...

Or Ellie needed to take her shirt off, the last piece of clothing before laying herself bare to him, completely naked. 

He had made the rules with that question in mind, always pushing to see if the outcome would be the one he'd dream for. 

It worked. 

Ellie's lips parted as she considered her options, her mind completely blank when all she could feel were his fingers on her waist, relentless and at the same time hard and soft, a lover's caress. 

Nick's eyes darted to her lips, and she knew. She just _knew_ that if she didn't make a decision soon, he would make it for her. They had derailed for too long and now there was no going back, if she didn't voice her desire for him or laid naked on top of his lap, he was gonna make the move. He was going to kiss her, one way or another. 

She felt it before she heard it. 

She felt him tighten up and then go ablaze, jaw clenching as his face turned from lust to fury in a second, just as the phone started to ring. 

_It must be McGee calling for updates_ , she thought. 

Just as he did every night. 

"I didn't throw this phone out the window yet was because it's our only contact with the real world," he said. 

She chuckled. 'Real world' was a nice way of putting it, as if this was all an unending dream. His hands had tightened on her hipbones as if scared of letting her go. 

"Eleanor Bishop," Nick angled his own hip up, increasing the contact and a soft moan left her lips, "don't you dare move."

The phone continued to ring, and they continued to stare in each other's eyes, heart with the same frantic gallop in their chests. 

The sound died. 

Nick shuddered, letting out a sound of relief when Ellie stayed perched on top of his lap. 

Then the phone started ringing again. 

"I swear, I'm gonna-"

She chuckled, her thumb caressing his cheek. That made his eyes lock on hers again, a sad flicker passing by. She would get out to answer it... She would stop... She would leave him. He had failed, Nick felt like falling down a cliff way before something even happened, grasping for something he couldn't hold. The phone continued to ring, and he had never hated a sound so much in his life. He would lose her again, he would-

Ellie placed a soft kiss on the bop of his nose. 

Nick stood very still, trying to understand. 

She rolled a leg over his and stood up, walking towards the kitchen to get the phone. "Hello?" He heard from the other room. 

Did it mean something? What was going on? Was she going to return? Did he lose the moment again? Why did she kiss his nose? It was such an intimate touch for her to share, it must have been out of impulse. 

Did it mean her instincts still called to him? Was she going to return? Did she actually like him more than a friend? What was that all about?

Was she going to return?

Nick was already up and walking when his senses came back to him. 

She was facing the other side, one hand bracing the kitchen counter and another talking to McGee on the phone. Her feet curled behind her, and she raised the free hand to her hair, playing with it around her finger as if she needing something to do to get the tension off. 

"Yeah, yeah. We're alright. Nick's feeling way, way better, so I think it was just a scare." Ellie's voice came out steadier than she felt, her insides had melted to goo hours ago. "Great. And how's the rest of the-"

A gasp escaped her before she could cover the phone, just as his lips planted a soft kiss on the back of her thigh. His hand started to trail up, stroking the back of her other leg in sync with his delicate nibbling up and down her thigh. He must be kneeling behind her. 

"I'm- I'm sorry, what, McGee? I didn't hear what you just said." Her senses were focused only on Nick's fingers lazily stroking the back of her leg, and soft sucking the back of her other knee and- "Yes. Yes, McGee, I'm glad everyone's alright."

She could feel Nick's chuckle on her skin, followed by a sequence of slow kisses up and down, up and down, making her dizzy. She wasn't listening to anything McGee was saying, she was just responding to it as he went along, a little bit breathless and panting. 

Nick stood up and she felt his hand push her hair aside just before he started kissing her neck, and Ellie's eyes fluttered shut. She bit the inside of her cheeks with such force it started to sting, clenching her hand on the kitchen counter as Nick started pressed his weight behind her, soft hands stroking her sides with such contrast with his harsh pressure on her ass. 

"Great, GREAT, Uhum, yes, yes," he continued to nip and suck her pulse, one hand gripping her waist tight as another intertwined with her fingers on top of the counter. "No, no, we're great. Amazing, really. People would have thought we'd been eating each other's throats by now, but-"

Nick sucked harder on her neck, and a distant thought passed her mind that it would probably leave a hickey. "I mean, we did eat each other's throats, but now is way calmer, way better..."

He pressed his hips even closer, practically showing her how hard he was, just as a hand creeped out under her shirt traveling up and up to dangerous territory...

"Awesome, McGee. Thanks. We'll-call-you-tomorrow-bye." 

She hung up just before a loud moan escaped, her breathing coming out as cries when Nick didn't stop what he was doing, knuckles kneading the base of her breasts. Her neck was getting too much attention, and the way he was pressed at her behind made her head spin, no coherent thoughts in orbit. 

He chuckled at how helpless she was now, trashing under his arms by just the soft graze of his fingers. Nick let his lips brush the shell of her ear and Ellie moaned again loudly, her voice music in his ears. 

"Truth," he said, "you're driving me crazy." 

He let his lips brush her ear ever so slightly, her breathing coming out a gasp in return. 

"Truth," he added, "I can't stop thinking about you." 

Ellie licked her own lips, her mouth dry all of a sudden, her senses turned up to high alert and reactive. 

"Truth," he whispered, heat caressing her ear. 

Nick stopped, his lips hovering her neck as he swallowed dry. 

"I think I'm falling..."

Ellie turned around in a swift move, his arms holding her shoulders in place as he did so. Dark brown eyes widened and searched for an answer in her own, asking a soundless question she had asked herself _for months_. 

Is this what poets talk about? 

Is this it? 

Am I falling...

"Nick," her voice was surprisingly calmer than she was. He looked at her with such care, such fear that even a wrong move could make her back away forever, such adoration and devotion. 

Nick didn't speak, but his eyes said enough. 

"There's something I should have told you a long time ago," she said. Her eyes searched for approval, any kind of approval in his that this was the right path to go, this was natural, and kind and certain. 

Nick nodded, but barely, his entranced eyes locked on hers. 

"Kiss me?" she whispered uncertain.

For a moment, he didn't react. He just stood there, calculating all the could happen, all that didn't and all that had. Ellie's eyes were so wide, doubt filling them, lips parted slightly as she stared at him. And then his lips. 

And then it clicked. 

And if someone listened with more attention, trying to hear something over the two hearts beating in sync, they would've caught the sound of cheers. 

Of loud, but soundless cheers, as if music carried on by the wind till the dancing stars, which cheered and howled for the miracle happening inside those four walls. 

Fate chuckled as well, patting his own back. 

And Nick waited for nothing more before bringing his lips onto hers.


	7. The sheets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The Well - SAILR](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Woe9rUhyaqM)

It was the answer to a question they had asked themselves all their lives.

The world slowed down when Nick placed his lips over Ellie's soft ones, so carefully and yet so steady, so certain. His hands cupped her cheeks and Ellie inhaled in a gasp, closing her eyes with him when lips crashed. Nick didn't move for a second, testing his limits at the same time he didn't want to scare her, as if she was prone to run away. His thumb caressed her cheek softly, so so sweetly. His lips were soft, and full and unfamiliar, but so warm and inviting she found herself leaning towards his touch. 

It was a whisper of a kiss, and it couldn't be any softer.

The tremble on Nick's hands as he tried to refrain his impulses turn down once he cupped her cheeks, and he could feel her body close, warm and real, leaning to his contact as their lips met. 

He was nervous and his heart was beating so fast he thought it was going to stop at any minute, speed racing towards a no-exits cliff. He felt her hands hold his wrists, and the touch made his skin tingle, the warmth coming from her strange and pleasant. Very pleasant, which made Nick inhale her floral scent and the kiss break apart for a moment, his head spinning.

Ellie continued with her eyes closed, feeling his hands hold her safe and still, her own hands caressing his wrists without a second thought. 

Her eyes opened softly, blinking out the sudden daze of feeling, just to found dark, dark eyes already staring at her. The color of the earth's soil, keeping everything safe, with the sweetness of saccharine chocolate and the pleasant bitterness of strong coffee. There was a glint of doubt in them, dark-cinnamon swirls searching for an answer in her own eyes. His thumb continued to gently caress her cheek.

Ellie opened up a big smile.

Nick felt a shock of relief, breathing deeply as he looked at her. 

She had the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen.

His hand steadied. Nick cracked a smile with eyes twinkling in joy. 

She let out a giggle that was soon muffled by his lips again, crashing into hers, now not so unfamiliar but inviting all the same.

The kiss turned rough, more frantic, her lips opening up involuntarily to welcome his tongue, feelings exploding while they explored each other without shame. Nick's hands drifted to her hair and Ellick moaned softly when he pressed his body closer to hers and pulled at the base of her neck, every cell of her body craving more of him. Her own hands circled his neck and heat flushed everywhere when he let out an aroused mumble. 

Their gestures turned frenzied, firing up as tongues crashed and hands roamed everywhere. Nick's heart galloped in his chest, and his insides flamed up when Ellie bit his bottom lip, raw need exploding in him. She let out a cry when his hands shot down to the back of her thighs, pulling her up onto the top of the counter. Ellie's legs circled his hips in instinct, and as he pressed even closer to her, she saw stars.

His lips moved to her neck and Ellie's mouth parted slightly when he started planting wet kisses just below her ear, alternating between nibbling and sucking. Her eyes were closed and her focus was divided between her neck getting too much attention and his hands gripping her thighs, the heat of his touch making her dizzy. She let out a rough moan when he pinned closer, his throbbing cock rock hard as it pressed against her exposed skin, nothing between them except the fabric of Nick's sweatpants.

His hot breath caressed the nook of her neck while hands gripped her tight. "You have no idea how much I want you," he said.

"I think I have a pretty good guess," Ellie replied, her eyes closed.

Her hips started moving with their own accord, rubbing against his growing erection and making him whimper. Nick took a sharp intake of breath and nipped at her ear, his raspy breathing audible by the proximity. "The noises you make are incredible," his voice was deep, deeper than she'd ever seen him talk.

"Well, you've been giving me bedroom eyes for the past half an hour," her own voice was soft, a gasp as she tried to breathe while Nick continued to kiss her jaw and neck up and down. "I just can't control them anymore." She moaned again, nails already giving marks to his exposed back as Nick gave marks of his own on her skin. 

His lips crashed into hers again, kiss urgent as Nick tried to unbutton her shirt, her own fingers tumbling but not getting it right fast enough. He let her do it, leaning back just enough for Ellie to open the remaining buttons and take her shirt off, laying herself bare as his eyes were fixed on hers, pupils dilated and even darker than normal. 

Then they drifted south, and Nick braced himself on the counter as his eyes roamed her naked skin, breathing heavily as his lips parted. Ellie stayed still, but couldn't help than do the same, letting her vision wander over his shirtless body and strong muscles, flexing as he gripped the marble top tightly. She bit her bottom lip and his own eyes shot up to the gesture. 

He licked his own lips as Ellie stayed there, displayed on the counter as if his own personal feast. 

Her eyes were smoke, pure smoke, honey dripping as arousal overspilled everywhere, making him dizzy. Her golden hair was already sex-like, after he'd pulled it with hunger, and her chest heaved up and down, breathing heavily as her lips parted. Lips swollen from kissing, hair mussed from pulling and bare chest heaving from need. 

She was a goddess.

"You're stunning," he said without thinking, eyes back on hers again. 

There was such honesty in his voice, she believed it, a moment of intimacy right among sexual driven impulses. Of course men had said she'd looked beautiful before, but not like that. Not as if it was just a fact, just a truth to be stated that everyone already knew about. Not when she was so vulnerable, exposed and without any layers, showing her true self for the first time like that. Not when she'd desired to hear those words for so long, but never expected to hear it from him, with such brutal honesty and need, as if he had thought about it for a long time. 

"Thank you," she let out, blinking.

"I mean it," he saw the doubt in her face, and his eyes roamed again, studying every inch of her. 

Nick stepped closer, his hand raising up in the air. She closed her eyes back again as his fingers trailed softly, almost too gently, from her neck down, brushing on each of her clavicles. Nick planted a soothing kiss at the corner of her mouth and Ellie opened up a small smile, answering to his soundless question. He smiled as well, fingers making patterns on her shoulder as his other hand drifted from her thigh to her waist. Ellie opened her eyes and nodded, ever so slightly, and received a tender kiss just above her sternum in return. 

"Can I ask you just one more question?" he said on her skin, placing soft kisses from her throat down, smiling against her chest. 

"S-sure," arousal clouded her vision, and his kisses trailing souther and souther weren't helping. 

"Why do you hate when I call you babe?" 

"I don't hate it-" her voice escaped her when his knuckle grazed against her nipple, while his mouth placed kisses on top of her other breast. "I disliked it," she let out in a gasp, her eyes closing and head falling backward just as Nick's lips enclosed around it, tongue sweeping over her nipple before it turned to sucking, while his fingers stroked her other breast.

"Why." 

She looked down at him and he was already staring at her, eyes watching her reaction as his mouth sucked her nipple with need. A deep moan escaped her and Ellie let her hand drift to his hair, holding him close. 

"Because it seemed too real."

"And now?" 

His kisses trailed south, making a path from her belly button to her hipbone, down to the inside of her thighs and never where she wanted him to. 

His fingers barely stroked her skin, but made their way from her chest to the back of her leg, a hand pushing her backwards softly to give them more support over the counter. He put her legs over his shoulders, and Ellie let herself lay down, eyes closing with the sensation, her skin prickling wherever Nick kissed, his fingers now making lazy patterns at the back of her thigh as his lips touched the inside of the other.

"Now is different," she replied. It was all she could think on with her mind dizzy, hips already starting to tremble under his unending teasing, heat clouding her vision. 

"Mmm," he mumbled, his hot breath making her squirmish as it caressed the vulnerable spot just inside her thigh. "Now is different," Nick repeated, soft kisses relentless. If just he could move a little bit to the side...

"Yeah," she let out in a gasp, biting back a moan. 

He stopped.

She felt his fingers back away, lips hovering above her skin but not kissing her anymore. She opened her eyes and almost bend herself over again to ask him about it when she heard him speak.

"So I wanna see you come for me, babe."

A shock ran down her spine and her voice escaped her completely when Nick licked her just where she wanted, Ellie's eyes rolling back in pleasure. 

A hand held her by her pelvis, arm circling her leg and keeping her steady. To be fair, his support was the only thing keeping her from slipping down entirely, as he licked and sucked her clit without restraint, eyes fixed on her. Ellie's body trashed under his grip, her hands pulling his short hair as she tried to gain some control. His cocky laughter against her vulnerable skin wasn't helping, and she spiraled down every time he stopped for a moment and then came back to lick her again, slowly, savoring every second of it. 

"You taste like fucking candy."

If Nick was turned on before with her playing with fire, now he was about to explode with the image of Eleanor Bishop wrecking under his grip, cheeks flushed and golden hair scattered around her like a lion mane, moaning his own name repetitively.

His heart beat fast, eyes never leaving her face as he tried to hold onto that picture forever. Yes, he'd dreamed and wished about kissing her, wondering if one day that would come to happen, but to watch her like that? To make love to her, to make her come hearing his name escaping her lips as if a goddamn prayer? No, Nick could never have predicted it, never would have even thought this would come true, not at all.

Ellie's body shot up when a finger entered her with ease, followed by another one right after, while Nick didn't stop licking her.

A sequence of curse words left her when he moved, fingers hooking up just at the right spot and tongue making her brain short circuit.

"Look at you, I've only started using my fingers and you're already shaking," he said. His soft laugh was a hot breath against her vulnerable skin, his fingers increasing speed just as his smile turned to licking again, skin burning with pleasure. She couldn't think straight, eyes rolling back and mind blank as she felt a throbbing sensation growing at the base of her stomach. 

"Shut up," her words felt slurred.

"Make me."

His fingers moved inside her with increasing rhythm, and Nick started humming against her clit, as if it did taste like fucking candy. She couldn't see anything anymore, just feel. Feel his tongue doing wonders to her and getting her eyes crossed. Feel his fingers going in and out, in and out, in and out as if in a song, rhythm relentless and hooking up just where she needed him to. Feel a growing sensation at the base of her belly, eyes shutting down and little stars appearing. 

"Come for me, baby," he said against her hot skin. 

She was falling, falling down the cliff, about to explode-

Ellie fell.

"Oh, _god_ , Nick," she moaned while he continued to end her. "Nick, Nick- _Nick_."

Ellie was in seventh heaven, her walls clenching around his fingers and breathing hitching while she saw stars, little stars, blurring her vision as her eyes rolled back. He continued to lick her, and she felt the fireworks exploding in her core, a continuous series of bursts of fire coming from within. She had never come so hard, skin prickling and orgasm elongating as Nick continued to undo her, fingers brushing her G spot just with the right pressure she needed. Her mind was in bliss, fire flaming everything and melting everything as she felt her legs shake and body convulse in pleasure repetitively. 

He had never been this turned on by making someone else come. 

But Ellie was coming so hard around his hand, Nick thought he was close to coming himself, just by looking at her. 

She was trashing underneath his grip, eyes shut close and back arched over the kitchen counter, moaning his name as if a prayer, killing him softly. Her mouth was parted slightly, changing between biting her lower lip and opening slack repetitively, while her chest heaved up and down. Her hands pulled her own golden hair, as if trying to regain some control, alternating between this and tightening at the counter's edge, knuckles turning white. 

He stopped sucking her and retrieved his fingers from inside when Ellie pushed his head away, as if asking to breathe for a second. Nick planted a kiss on her clit and let her go, eyes glinting as he watched Eleanor Bishop shake and arch in multiple little waves.

 _God_ , she thought, _he's not even touching me anymore and it's still coming._

She was still moaning his name aloud, and Nick couldn't look away.

 _He must be some kind of love machine_.

Ellie opened her eyes, blinking a few times as her breathing finally slowed down, even if her legs were still shaking a bit.

She found him looking at her, Nick's eyes feral but with a cocky smile displayed that made her see how proud he was of himself. 

Maybe he wasn't used to this kind of reaction, after all.

He was also rock hard, the bulge under his sweatpants quite visible, which made her open the same smug smile. She leaned herself up on her elbows and let her eyes roam his body, broad torso turning into sweat coated abs that disappeared in a V line just above the brim of his pants. Her eyes stayed on his bulge, and Nick felt himself flustering as Ellie tilted her head, biting her lower lip as her eyes came back to his again. 

His smile had disappeared, eyes turning intense under her gaze, and he inflated his chest a little bit as he let her see him. See him and maybe like what she saw, maybe see beyond him, see him as her partner, her equal-

"Come here," Ellie purred, sitting on the counter, long legs dangling from its edge.

Nick stepped closer to her and didn't have the chance of saying anything before being pulled by neck, lips crashing almost aggressively into a ravenous kiss.

Ellie's legs circled around his hips instinctively, moaning inside the kiss as her hands scratched the back of his head and nails marked the skin of his back, expressing her need and satisfaction quite clearly. Nick was boiling, she was so hot gluing herself to him like that, blissfully naked and coated with the after-sex smell, his mind went numb as heat flushed all around. Her tongue crashed into his, teeth biting his lower lip from time to time and making him growl in hunger. Her legs tightened around him and Nick could feel how wet she was through his pants, how inviting, how unreal-

"God, you're soaking wet," he said.

"Nick," she panted between frenzied kisses, lip bites and moans. "Bed," was all Ellie could muster.

She tasted herself in his lips, tongue still exploring hers as she felt strong hands taking her by the back and lifting her up as if she weighed nothing. Her legs were still shaking a little bit, but Nick's grip was steady and certain, enough to balancing her post-orgasm tiredness out. 

The didn't get to the bed though, Nick pushed her back against the wall midway, hands falling to her thighs as she levitated around his hips.

"You don't know how many times I dreamed of this, how many times I wanted to kiss you, to have you," his voice trailed down as he kissed her neck again, hips pushing even closer, making her legs tighten up around him. He was so hard, and she was so naked, sweat already coating Ellie's skin from all the heat of the room, candles' shadows dancing on their faces. "All I think about is you."

"Nick, babe," she purred, making him chuckle against her skin with the use of the nickname. It seemed so natural, as if it already was at the back of her mind all along, just ready to be let out. "I need to feel you inside me."

That snapped something in him.

Nick growled hoarsely, guiding her to the bed without second thought, lips crashing into hers again as he let out a low moan from hearing her talk just like she did earlier that week in his dream. 

It all seemed like a dream, really.

He laid her gently on top of the mattress, climbing on top of her a second later. 

They kissed and Ellie hissed with the contact - somehow Nick had managed to discard the rest of his clothes and now his cock pressured her folds with nothing in between. 

She moaned his name out loud and Nick saw stars, taking every ounce of his self-control not to just enter her right then and there. 

"I need to see you," she said in a gasp. 

He just mumbled in return and continued to kiss her, her lips then her jaw as if he couldn't get enough of her. 

"Nick, I _need_ to see you."

Nick didn't reply, but was surprised with a turn of his hip instead. Ellie hooked her legs around him and flipped them over, now sitting on top of him. 

Gosh, he needed to keep it together if he wanted to last any longer. 

His breathing slowed down and Ellie opened a feral grin, cocking her head to the side and letting her hair fall over her shoulder. He chuckled, hands grazing her tighs, with the glorious sight of Bishop on top of him and the heat of their contact. 

She placed her hands on his chest and rubbed their hips a little, making him growl. The sound of a slap reverberated on the small flat, her ass turning red a moment after. 

"I don't have a condom," he said with a slurred voice, his mind certainly spinning.

"I'm on birth control." She started to kiss his chest with lazy kisses, body pressed to his own.

"Good, because it would have been hard to control..." Nick's eyes were closed shut as she kissed him all over, neck, jaw, throat and down.

His heartbeat was thundering in his chest, and Ellie placed a soft kiss just on top of it, which made him smile. 

"Oh, I think it _is_ already hard," she said.

Nick hissed when her delicate fingers brushed his cock, tracing the shaft up and down lightly, almost barely, a ghost of a touch. Ellie kissed his hipbone and licked his V line, hair brushing his erection on the process. A low moan escaped his lips when she went further down, placing a soft kiss on its tip. 

His head was spinning, eyes crossed and skin burning with need. His cock gave a jerk of its own and Nick thought he was gonna come with only the sight of her mouth hovering above it, licking her lips as if she was about to eat a great meal. Her whiskey eyes were fixed on his as Ellie rubbed his thighs up and down, teasing clear and palpable on the air, almost stinging from how much it turned him on.

Ellie wasn't surprised by the effect she had on him, nor by the sheer length he displayed, his cock jerking whenever she laid even a finger on it.

"What? Does that feel good?" she purred, kissing his hipbone while her fingers traced his shaft up and down lazily.

Nick tried to gain some control, mouth opening and closing repetitively as Ellie started planting kisses on it, so softly they tingled, burning his skin and blurring his vision. "Stop teasing," he let in a growl.

Her hand gripped his cock and Nick saw stars, chest heaving and eyes fixed on hers, now unblinking. He didn't want to miss a second of this dream.

"What you're gonna do about it," she said with a moan tone to it, "...stud?"

He saw the head of his cock disappear inside her mouth, and with that he was gone, sirens going off inside his mind. 

Ellie let her mouth take it as much as she could, hands circling the rest of it. She licked the side of him up and down, and Nick was already trashing underneath, precome dripping from its tip and leaving a salty taste to her tongue, which made her grin go feral. He gripped the mane of hair falling around her and gathered into a messy bun, never pushing or demanding anything like the other men she was used to. 

That made her want to see him lose control completely.

Honey eyes were fixed on his as she licked him all over, cock disappearing into that glorious mouth only to reappear right after with a loud 'pop'. Her delicate hands stroked him up and down with increased speed, and whenever she looked up to watch him, his heart went racing, bursting in his chest. She moaned around him, and the sound reverberated over his skin, making Nick see stars.

"Fuck, Ellie," he let out in a low growl, "you're gonna make me come like this." He watched her look at him, lips around the head of his cock and tongue tracing it slowly, as if she was taking her time to end him.

"That's the point."

"I thought you needed to feel me inside you," his breathing was raspy, mind spinning as she continued to lick him all over, sucking until her cheeks tightened. Nick closed his eyes, trying not to come by the image of her doing that, but it only made matters worse. Without his vision, his mind focused straight on sensation, and Nick was a living furnace. He was so hard he could feel he was about to explode, fire burning on his stomach already.

"Good point," Ellie purred, and with that, she licked the side of his shaft slowly and throughout. She let her mouth close around his head one last time before placing a kiss on its tip. Nick now was crying out loud, the moan a low breath he let out intercalated between curse words in both Spanish and English. She was glad she had affected him the same he did on her.

Ellie gave him no warning before sitting on his lap, wet folds coming into contact with a jerking hard cock.

Nick took a sharp intake of air, hot-blooded and dizzy with her rubbing all over him, soaking wet. Ellie started moaning loudly again, hands supporting herself on his muscled as she arched her back, eyes rolling back as she got hold of the heat rising up. 

She was so turned on the pressure was already building up again, as she rubbed her clit against his rock hard member with urgency, craving for more. She opened her eyes and found him clenching his jaw, hands gripping her hips tightly as if trying not to come right away. To be fair, it was being difficult for her too, Ellie was already sweating, candles making her coated skin shine, to which Nick mentally noted down how purely beautiful she was - silver drops of sweat glittering amongst golden skin. 

She lifted her hips for a moment, hand carefully stroking his cock. Nick found her eyes and realized that behind all the smoke, she was asking him something. Ask him if he thought this was the decision to make, the path to go. Bishop knew there was no going back, and wanted him to know there were consequences, there were problems about to arise from that one moment. 

But no force on earth would make him back away now. 

Torres knew the consequences, and knew that if they went all the way, things would change. They wouldn't be able to lie anymore, or to see each other as only friends. He always knew there was a spark there, but this went way beyond just lust. 

They were about to make love. 

He sat down, and Ellie blinked away the doubt. There was a small smile in his lips, and that made her heart calm down a little, he was aware of what she was thinking. 

She had always admired the way he always got her so easily, how he always understood her without needing explanations. Perhaps there was something more than just the many hours spent working together, after all. Perhaps that was more than chance, the way they spoke with their eyes, or the way they complemented each other so well. Or perhaps it was just her mind wandering, lying to her.

The look of devotion Nick was giving her told otherwise. 

Some people call it bonding. 

Others call it a deeper connection. 

That night, fate kissed coincidence goodbye. 

And every single star watching knew - it was called soulmates.

His fingers traced her back carefully, sliding up and down her spine until the heat turned into a comfortable warmth, her heart slowing down. Ellie was perched atop his lap and her hands cupped his cheeks, gratitude and love pouring from her eyes. 

Nick turned his face into her touch and kissed her palm, the gesture so gentle and intimate it made her blush. 

Ellie smiled so wide her cheeks started to hurt. 

Nick chuckled and opened a grin as well, eyes twinkling along with her.

Smiles crashed into a lover's kiss, tongues caressing each other slowly, as if they had all the time of the world. 

Ellie's hand floated down and she gently guided him into her entrance, the head of his member nudging it slightly. Nick cupped her cheek and continued to kiss her softly, fingers massaging the back of her scalp. 

His mouth muffled the sound of her moan when he entered her in a gradual move, his cock filling her in and giving her a pleasant feeling on the base of her stomach. 

She noticed he was doing his best not to move, giving her space to adjust to him for how long she needed. He gave her the decision to choose, and Ellie thought she couldn't be more in love than when she was then. 

Ellie pulled herself slightly, making him mumble something incoherently in her mouth with the friction. Her eyes fluttered shut when he nipped her lower lip gently, and she let herself move downwards again, as deeply as she could. 

Nick started moving slowly, tenderly, thrusting his hips up while she helped keep the rhythm. He kissed her jaw and breathed against her neck once Ellie's back arched, eyes fluttering shut. Her blood was now burning hot, but the good kind of burn, the kind you get when you're certain you made the right choice. 

Nick kissed the cup of her breasts and his arm circled her waist, holding her closer to him. His mind was spinning, but now a pleasant type of haze, like he was wine drunk and in pure bliss. The stars danced behind her figure, and Bishop clouded all his senses, her smell, taste and voice filling his mind.

To be inside her was paradise, and he knew he wouldn't last long when she started to increase rhythm, soft moans escaping between raspy breaths. His own breathing pattern was a mess, as he trailed kisses on her skin with tender but burning need. 

Ellie cried his name and he kissed her nipple, thrusting inside her with such a steady pace that she was already seeing little stars. Nick started to mumble her own name over and over, his arms holding her close by the waist and another grabbing her unbound hair. 

He pulled it softly to expose her throat, placing wet kisses under her jaw as her eyes fluttered shut, the combined sensation boiling in her mind. She briefly noted they didn't need dirty talk when it came to the sex itself, and they weren't speaking anything other than each other names. It was as if they both knew this had trespassed the just-sex line a long time ago, and there no words needed for them to express what they felt. 

Their eyes said enough. 

Nick's eyes locked on hers and she wasn't surprised to find a look that matched her own - such raw passion and desire that made her kiss him with burning want. 

Ellie increased the rhythm and Nick was there for her, thrusts turning more frantic alongside her growing moans. He kissed her throat, teeth grazing on her pulse and turning everything into living flames. He felt her walls starting to clench around him and he knew, he just _knew_ that if she came, he was going to follow her. He was almost falling over the edge with her moving on his lap like that. 

She did come.

Ellie took a sharp intake of breath and bit his lower lip, bliss exploding in her mind. Her legs started to tremble and feelings started to collapse as Nick continued to move inside her, repeating her name and telling her how beautiful she looked. Her skin tingled everywhere, head spinning as shocks of pleasure came building up in waves from deep inside.

She felt him thrust a few times before coming as well, crying her name on her shoulder when he collapsed, overspilling inside her as her core continued to melt down.

Stars danced everywhere. 

Nick only saw stars, and whiskey eyes and a wide smile in front of him before being pulled by the neck into a kiss. He closed his eyes again as tongues crashed, and realized he was still moaning her name when she started to chuckle softly against his lips. 

Their hands intertwined as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Ellie rested her forehead on his and he started laughing as well, a laugh that could teach some things about love to anyone who hear it.

She kissed his nose gently, then both eyelids and his forehead, lips brushing softly against his skin. 

Nick's own breathing slowed down and he opened a big grin, eyes twinkling with joy. 

"Please tell me this is not just a feverish dream," he said smiling. Nick put a strand of hair behind her ear and Ellie couldn't stay a second without smiling as well.

"Mmm, let's see." She kissed his cheekbone, lips grazing it tenderly, "can you feel that?"

Nick chuckled, and his eyes were bright when he nodded slightly.

"And this?" She nibbed at his jaw, laughter escaping as her lips brushed his stubble, tingling.

"Mmm-mm," he answered, heart growing warm.

"And this?" she licked the shell of his ear, and Nick closed his eyes.

Ellie's loud laughter was the only sound echoing around the small apartment when Nick grabbed her waist and spun them around, tossing her on the bed before started kissing her skin. 

"Sometimes dreams do come true, Nick."

Candles were long turned off, but the moonlight reflected her joy with pride, giggling little stars filling the sky as the lovers intertwined themselves again. 

And that night, inside those four walls, for once they touched each other unashamed.

°°°

After many kisses later, and moans and smiles, the moon bid the sky goodbye and Ellie convinced him to rest a little, though Nick couldn't get enough of her. They were already laying in bed, fingers intertwined and holding each other close when Nick decided he couldn't take it anymore. He was smiling so much it hurt, and his eyes were opened wide despite the numbing feeling of weariness at the back of his mind, which was reasonable after all those hours-long activities they shared on top of those sheets.

And the wall.

And the shower.

He kissed her shoulder blade softly and Ellie mumbled in her sleep in front of him, a daze between reality and dreaming, voice slurred.

"Ellie?" he asked in a whisper.

"Mm?" was all she could muster.

Nick took a deep breath, inhaling her scent. He kissed the nook of her neck and the little huff of breath that told him she was smiling calmed his mind somehow. His heart, however, was a gallop, racing as the words tangled themselves in his throat, eyes blinking away the tiredness to organize his speech right. Ellie felt his arm tightened around her and she pushed herself slightly closer to him, the heat of his body spreading over her skin. 

"There's... there's something I want to tell you for some time now," he said, his voice suddenly serious.

That alone made Bishop look over her shoulder, eyes searching for his, but Torres was looking at their conjoining hands instead.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "I know-" he stuttered, and Ellie tightened the grip where their hands met, "I know I'm not the guy for you. I know you deserve so much more than me, you deserve something easy, and happy and light. And I can't give you that, but I- I like you to know that I can't go on denying these feelings any longer. I... I want this to be more than just a one-night stand. I know we acted out of instinct, and I know it would be complicated, awfully complicated to go ahead with this, but... but I just want you to know that. I see you more than a friend, damnit, I think since we were strangers I began feeling something about you. And I don't want it to affect our relationship, our friendship or us as partners in any way, but I can't hold to my emotions as some type of secret any longer."

"I know we're not allowed to be together and us as a couple would only turn things harder in the field, but I just need to tell you- I just want you to know-" Nick clenched his jaw as his voice broke, eyes tearing up as he spoke. "I just want you to know I'll always be here for you, in whatever decision you make. If you decide to treat this as just a drunk night while we were stuck in quarantine, I'll fully respect that and we can eventually laugh about it. But now, right now, I can't lie to you any longer and keep these feelings just for myself."

"Ellie," her name sounded like a plea on his tongue, "all I think about in the entirety of my day is you. Your smile, your wellbeing, your happiness. You may not see me in your future, but-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Nick."

He took a sharp intake of breath and his eyes shot up to hers, doubt blinking away the about to spill tears. 

Ellie's gaze turned soft when she realized how nervous he was, how committed he was in making this right, and how much he respected her to make her own decisions, not pushing her to do anything.

The noblest type of love is the one you don't need reciprocity to feel its entirety.

Ellie's heart grew soft. 

"How can you say you're not the right guy?" Nick startled, completely not expecting such an answer. "You're genuine, and you're kind and you've seen me at my worst and didn't turn away," she smiled sheepishly, remember the many times she'd snapped at him for absolutely nothing. "You're an amazing guy, and any girl that has a chance to get to you is a very lucky woman. I know I'm geek and awkward and just plain, not at all your type, but that doesn't matter now, what matters is-"

"You're the most amazing thing life has thrown upon me, Eleanor Bishop."

Her mouth opened slightly and Nick nodded, eyes watching hers as brute honesty made her heart skip a beat.

"You're beautiful, and you're powerful and independent and just the most exquisite woman I've ever met," he said with a shy smile, "and I can't stop thinking about you."

"I can't stop thinking about _you_ ," she chuckled, eyes bright.

Nick smile widened, and he felt like he could fly. He could scream to the heavens her name, he could pull all the stars just to see her smile at him like that, say those words to him. Ellie was laughing, her delicate finger wiping a single tear that had spilled over her cheek, and Nick took her hand out on a whim. He kissed her palm, closing his eyes. 

She started crying then, her mouth opened in a big grin. 

"What do we do now?" he whispered, eyes twinkling in the dark.

Ellie inhaled, her hand trembling with emotion inside his. "We face it," she replied, "we face it together."

"I have your back."

"And I have yours," she smiled and he followed, beaming as well.

Nick pulled her closer, pressing their smiles together in a soft kiss. It was as if they were kissing for the first time all over again, such emotion shared through such a simple touch, their lips grazing each other tenderly, almost barely. A secret, but now a secret shared, _their_ secret, at least for now. 

"You're mine," said Ellie, caressing the back of his head. 

"I'm yours," he kissed her forehead, warmth spreading from his touch, "and you're mine."

"Completely."

She was smiling, he was smiling, even the stars were smiling, finally getting ready for a happily ever after.

"We need some rest," she said, though her eyes were bright. He couldn't stop looking at them. 

"You're right," he replied, eyes dancing with joy, "lots to do in the morning."

Ellie chuckled, and pulled him a little bit closer, hugging his chest. She laid her head on top of him, listening to his calming heartbeat. She had never felt safer than in that one moment. 

Nick's arms held her close, and he kissed her hair repetitively before letting himself close his eyes. 

"Goodnight, babe," she whispered, and he chuckled, the dream of hearing her calling him that coming true.

"Goodnight, tater tots," he replied, entering the land of dreams.

He was almost sound asleep when he heard her move, watching him with her elbows rested on his chest, eyes studying him close. 

He smiled, eyes fluttering open again, blinking away the tired daze.

"Nick?" Ellie kissed his chest, just above his heart, her arms hugging him closer and legs intertwining with his. 

"Mm?" He asked, inhaling her hair, hugging her tightly as his breathing slowed down to a sigh. 

"I love you too."

His heart was so big he thought it could explode. 

He kissed her hair, pulling her even closer.

"Love you, B."


	8. The start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Grow Something Beautiful - Micah Lother](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxgQjd45UiY)

The sun rose and set, and they stayed in each other's arms.

Ellie woke up with a little trail of soft kisses coming from her neck to her temple. She chuckled, they made her skin tingle.

"Mmm, good morning to you too," she mumbled, smile evident in her voice.

Nick continued to kiss her, his arm holding her close around the waist, another one circling her chest from behind. She started to giggle under his grip, but he didn't stop, just planting kisses wherever he liked and smiling with her. 

No light crept from behind the closed balcony, it was already dark at the other side. They could hear music again, muffled by the glass and between barks of laughter coming from somewhere else outside. His legs were tangled with hers, and he inhaled her scent all over, mumbling incoherent sounds and tugging her close, nudging his nose on her skin. Ellie felt so warm in his arms, like living flame he was able to hold close. 

He wanted to stay like this forever.

Nick held her tight, and Ellie couldn't stop beaming, her heart growing bigger with every kissed he planted on her skin. She turned around and started kissing him back, climbing on top of him to plant kisses everywhere in his face. He couldn't stop smiling. 

A phone started to ring, the sound loud even with their constant laughter, echoing around the tiny flat. 

"I need to get it," Nick laughed, but Ellie continued on top of him, kissing everywhere. "Bishop, babe, I need to get it." 

He cupped her face and kissed her softly on the lips before pushing her slightly to the other side of the bed. Nick stood up, completely naked, and padded towards the kitchen to get the phone, not before Ellie whistled loudly and slapped his butt, to which he only looked back at her, shaking his head.

He could get used to this.

"Torres," she heard him say, his smile clear in his voice as he answered the phone. 

Ellie herself couldn't stop smiling, and stood up after wrapping the sheets around herself to open the shutters and let clear moonlight spill in, for once happy she had slept the whole day. 

Just knowing she had slept in his arms for that long made her smile, and as she remembered the things that pretty mouth could do more than kissing, oh boy... She giggled to the dark as she recalled the night before, and she felt she could explode with joy only by doing that.

The stars danced around, filling her vision. Little tiny speckles of dust shining from above just for her, showing how beautiful life can be.

It really was the most perfect night for dreams coming true. 

She felt his warmth a second before his arms circled her waist from behind, Nick's nose nudging the crook of her neck as if the most natural thing on the world.

She could get used to this.

"It was McGee on the phone," he mumbled between kisses. She giggled and Nick pulled her closer. "He said we'll need to stay here a week longer, I'm afraid," he purred, nose tracing her neck up and down.

"Mmm, that's awful," Ellie closed her eyes, smiling as he nipped at her earlobe. "He'll see right through it when we get back." 

Nick chuckled, "well, until then there's nowhere I would rather be than here." His words mimicked the ones she had spoken days ago, now with a completely different meaning. Nick nibbled gently at her ear, moonlight panting her skin silver.

Ellie turned around, heart racing as she found his eyes, such soft dark brown eyes looking at her, with such devotion. She smiled, cupping his cheeks and kissing him softly, love exploding in her heart. 

_His skin tone is so pretty shaded by starlight_ , she thought. 

Ellie let her head fall to his chest, the slow jazz playing somewhere far away combined with his racing heartbeat making her dizzy. A good kind of dizzy, lightheaded. She laughed, throwing her arms around his neck. Nick laughed as well, their happiness echoing against the night.

"Come a little bit closer, hum, Agent Torres," her eyes fell to his lips. His heart skipped a beat. "I'm all alone," she added, honey eyes darting back to his again. Nick hadn't felt this content for a long time. "And the night is so long," she said with a smile. A gorgeous smile, warming his heart.

He did what she'd ask, pulling her close.

The stars smiled too, showing their full light at last.

And that's the story of how a knight fell for a witch, how a shabby apartment turned into a secluded haven and how fate worked alongside coincidence to make it all happen. 

That's the story about how strange love can really be. 

That's how the world ended and another one started anew.

"And that's that," said the moon with a wink.

**The End**


End file.
